UOB Kay Hian has issued a research report indicating that ZTE's performance improved in the fourth quarter of last year but still fell short of expectations. The firm has lowered its net profit forecasts for the group for 2026 and 2027 by 20.7% and 21.5%, respectively, to 7.4 billion yuan and 7.9 billion yuan. Consequently, the target price for ZTE has been reduced from HK$29.4 to HK$23.2, while the Hold rating is maintained. In the fourth quarter, ZTE's net profit increased by 6.8% year-on-year to 33 billion yuan. However, the gross profit margin declined by 1.3 percentage points compared to the same period last year, though it recovered by 3.5 percentage points half-on-half to 29.4%. For the full year, net profit decreased by 43% year-on-year to 296 million yuan, falling below expectations, primarily due to weak profitability.
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