Yamato: Reiterates "buy" rating on CR Beer, high visibility on product portfolio and average selling price upgrades.

Daiwa released a research report stating that China Resources Beer has forecasted a net profit of 2.92 billion to 3.35 billion yuan in 2025, a decrease of 30% to 39% year-on-year. Excluding the impairment of 2.79 billion to 2.97 billion yuan in the liquor business, the bank estimates the company's net profit for the year to be 5.89 billion to 6.14 billion yuan, 5% higher than the bank's expectations of 5.74 billion yuan. The bank stated that the service consumption focusing on catering performed better than market expectations in February, which may lead to a stronger recovery in beer consumption through on-premise channels. In addition, the bank believes that the industry will benefit from the low base effect of "anti-waste" starting from May, paving the way for potential better-than-expected performance in the peak season of summer beer consumption. The bank maintains China Resources Beer as its top pick in the industry, as it has high visibility on its product mix and average selling price upgrades, mainly benefiting from the strong growth momentum of the premium brand Carlsberg and a higher proportion of sales through the home channel compared to the industry; the bank reiterated a "buy" rating with a target price of HK$36.