Profit Growth Driven by Structural Optimization and Cost Reduction
发布时间:2026-03-18 来源:华泰证券
Nanjing Iron & Steel has released its 2025 annual report. Full-year revenue was RMB57,994mn, down 6.17% YoY; attributable net profit reached RMB2,867mn, up 26.83% YoY, exceeding our expectation by 24.12%. Net profit growth was primarily driven by product mix optimization and cost reduction, in our view. Looking ahead, we expect the company to benefit from a recovery in industry sentiment under the "dual carbon" policy, combined with ongoing product mix optimization, supporting sustainable improvements in profitability. Maintain BUY.
Product mix improvement underway, cost reduction effective
The company has been shifting toward high value-added products. In 2025, sales of advanced steel materials reached 2,826.5k tonnes (+8.09% YoY), accounting for 30.45% of total steel product sales (+3.71pp YoY). Gross profit from these products was RMB3,004mn (+20.37% YoY), representing 48.15% of steel product gross profit (+1.59pp YoY). On the cost side, according to Mysteel, the iron ore index and coke settlement prices rose 1.8% YoY and fell 13.9% YoY, respectively. Combined with ongoing cost-efficiency measures, raw material process costs declined RMB1,063mn YoY, and main business costs fell 11.5% YoY. Overall gross margin reached 13.95%, up 2.16pp YoY. Additionally, Jiangsu Tiangong Technology, in which the company holds shares, was listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange in May 2025. Measured at market value, fair value changes contributed RMB510mn during the period, increasing attributable net profit by RMB433mn.
Steel: supply constraints to trigger an industry-wide profit growth
In our report Carbon Reduction Bodes Well for Steel Sector Earnings Upside (9 March 2026), we noted that the recent emphasis on voluntary emissions reduction during the Two Sessions may signal that dual carbon policies are entering substantive implementation. Normalized supply constraints could become the core driver of earnings recovery, and the steel industry may enter a cyclical rebound in 2026. The sector is currently at a historical trough. Coupled with a long-term decline in crude steel output and continued optimization of downstream demand structure, the industry is entering a policy-led recovery cycle characterized by supply contraction and amplified profit elasticity. Against this backdrop, the company's high proportion of premium products and effective cost reduction position it to potentially outperform the industry in profit leverage.
Maintain BUY
Considering the company's sustained improvement in high-end product profitability and strong cost control, we raise our earnings forecasts. We now project 2026/2027/2028 EPS at RMB0.47/0.54/0.62, representing upward revisions of 4.44/10.20% for 2026/2027 vs our previous estimates. Given the company's strong earnings stability, we value the stock at 18.10x 2026E PE, above its peers' average of 11.90x on Wind consensus, for our target price of RMB8.51 (previous: RMB7.7, based on 17.1x 2026E PE). Maintain BUY.
Risks: weaker downstream demand than we expect; volatile raw-material prices; capacity ramp-up trailing our expectations.