Data Centers & New Energy Moving in Tandem
发布时间:2026-06-01 来源:华泰证券
Kstar has announced its 2025 and 1Q26 results: 2025 revenue was RMB5.27bn, up by 26.72% YoY; the attributable NP was RMB611mn, up by 54.97% YoY. Notably, for 4Q25 revenue was RMB1,662mn, up by 33.22% YoY and up by 14.93% QoQ; the attributable NP was RMB165mn, up by 341.99% YoY and down by 13.34% QoQ. For 1Q26, revenue was RMB1.24bn, up by 31.47% YoY and down by 25.36% QoQ; the attributable NP was RMB139mn, up by 24.84% YoY and down by 16.01% QoQ. The company’s annual results were within its forecast range (RMB600-660mn). The rapid YoY growth in 1Q26 results was mainly driven by volume expansion in overseas markets, while net profit growth was lower than revenue growth mainly owing to Kstar’s high proportion of overseas business and the significant impact of reduced forex gains. We are optimistic about the company’s data center and new energy solar-storage businesses continuing to strengthen its channel and brand building, sharpening its global market competitive edges. Maintain OVERWEIGHT.
4Q25/1Q26 GPM both rose YoY
For 4Q25, the company’s gross margin/net profit margin were 29.89%/10.09%, up by 5.74/6.75pp YoY; for 1Q26, the gross margin/net profit margin were 29.71%/11.40%, +0.34/-0.37pp YoY. The YoY improvements in gross margin in 4Q25/1Q26 were likely in our view mainly driven by optimized shipment mix (overseas ESS volume expansion). The expense ratios for 4Q25/1Q26 were 16.07%/16.24%, up by 2.77/1.59pp YoY. Specifically, the financial expense ratio increased significantly, up by 1.40/3.36pp YoY, likely in our view mainly due to reduced exchange gains under the impact of exchange rate fluctuations (overseas revenue accounted for 52% of the total in 2025). Cash flow performance was strong, with the net operating cash flows in 2025/1Q26 at RMB911/113mn, up by 85.53%/186.00% YoY. In terms of dividends, the company plans to distribute a total cash dividend of RMB262mn for 2025, accounting for 42.89% of its attributable NP.
Data centers: advancing global presence and technical iteration
For 2025, the company’s data center industry revenue was RMB3,131mn (up by 14.18% YoY), accounting for 59.40%; the gross margin was 34.44%, down by 0.69pp YoY. In the domestic market, the company continues to deepen its presence in advantageous industries such as finance and telecommunications, with a key focus on internet and other sectors. For overseas expansion, while consolidating existing advantages in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, the company is accelerating its penetration into emerging markets such as North America and Australia, with overseas revenue exceeding 50% in 2025; it is also actively expanding its ODM customer cooperation opportunities, extending from single products to solutions to accelerate order fulfillment. In terms of products, the company is actively promoting technological iteration, laying out high-end products such as HVDC and SST to build momentum for future growth.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
We maintain our 2026 attributable NP forecast at RMB907mn, raise our 2027 attributable NP forecast by 6.76% to RMB1,179mn, and forecast 2028 attributable NP at RMB1,484mn (2026-2028E CAGR of 34.42%), with EPS of RMB1.56/2.02/2.55. The upward revision for 2027 profit mainly reflects the accelerated volume growth in overseas markets and the emergence of economies of scale, leading us to raise our revenue growth assumptions and lower our expense ratio assumptions. Comparable companies trade at an average 2026E PE of 31.37x on Wind consensus. Given the company’s leading overseas expansion progress and strong growth momentum, we assign a 2026E PE of 35x, deriving our target price of RMB54.55 (prior: RMB46.80, corresponding to 30x 2026E PE).
Risks: weaker data center buildout than we expect; intensifying competition; R&D uncertainties.