Express Delivery Drove Profit YoY
发布时间:2026-04-05 来源:华泰证券
Eastern Air Logistics has released 2025 revenue of RMB24,264mn, up by 0.9% YoY; the attributable net profit was RMB2,688mn, roughly flat YoY. For 4Q25, revenue was RMB7,015mn, up by 9.9% YoY, and the attributable net profit was RMB687mn, up by 10.7% YoY. The full-year profit largely met our estimate of RMB2.75bn. Air freight demand was strong in the 4Q peak season, supporting steady earnings growth. Looking ahead, we think that increasing oil prices in the near term should raise fuel costs but may also reshape the global air freight landscape and increase demand for supply chain stability, allowing the company to pass through some of the cost increase. Meanwhile, we think that the company should continue adding full-cargo aircraft to strengthen its trunk line capabilities and enhance integrated logistics to build a second earnings growth curve. Maintain BUY.
Air express segment fared well in the 4Q peak season
In 4Q25, revenue from the air express segment reached RMB3,426mn, up by 41.0% YoY, which we attribute to: 1) an increased revenue contribution from forwarding customers; 2) continued strong cross-border e-commerce demand in 4Q25, with the TAC air freight price index for outbound flights from Pudong Airport staying elevated and up by 1.4% YoY on average. The segment gross margin rose by 2.6pp YoY to 21.3%, generating a gross profit of RMB730mn, rising by 60.7% YoY.
4Q25 net profit improved YoY
Corresponding to the air express revenue trend, likely due to a decreased share of direct customer business, integrated logistics solutions revenue fell by 11.7% YoY in 4Q25 to RMB2,893mn, with the gross margin down slightly by 1.4pp YoY to 18.3%, although still at a relatively high level. Ground integrated services revenue was RMB683mn in 4Q25, up by 2.3% YoY, but the gross margin came down by 13.3pp YoY to 13.1%, likely as new cargo terminals require time to ramp up. The company’s overall gross margin declined by 0.7pp YoY to 19.4%, but owing to the strong performance of the high-margin air express segment, the gross profit increased by 5.9% YoY to RMB1,359mn. Meanwhile, likely due to improved foreign exchange gains (the RMB appreciated by 1.1% against the USD in 4Q25 vs a 1.5% depreciation in 4Q24), financial expenses fell by RMB88mn YoY. As a result, for 4Q25 the attributable net profit reached RMB687mn, up by 10.7% YoY.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
We lower our 2026/2027 attributable net profit forecasts by 22/9% to RMB2,308/3,017mn, and introduce our 2028 forecast of RMB3,458mn, with EPS of RMB1.45/1.90/2.18. The downward revisions mainly reflect oil cost hikes. We reference peers with similar market capitalization (Sinotrans, CTS International Logistics, and YTO Express) trading at an average 2026E PE of 14x on Wind consensus. We assign the company a 2026E PE of 14x (previous 2026E PE of 11x), for our target price of RMB20.30 (previous: RMB20.60). Maintain BUY.
Risks: a sharp decline in freight rates; rising oil prices; tariff and other policy risks; slower development of integrated logistics solutions business than we expect.