Potential Recovery in Amino Acid Prices Likely to Support Earnings
发布时间:2026-04-24 来源:华泰证券
Meihua Holding Group(Meihua)has reported 2025 and 1Q26 results.For 2025,revenue reached RMB24.2bn,down by 3%YoY.The attributable NP was RMB3.3bn,up by 20%YoY.The ex-nonrecurring net profit was RMB2.2bn,down by 18%YoY.For 4Q25,revenue was RMB6.0bn,down by 6%YoY and up by 1%QoQ.The attributable NP was RMB260mn,down by 66%YoY and 80%QoQ.For 1Q26,revenue was RMB6.0bn,down by 5%YoY,while the attributable NP was RMB120mn,down by 88%YoY.The net profits in 4Q25 and 1Q26 were below our expectations of RMB520mn and RMB300mn,mainly because prices of amino acids(AA)and other products declined.The company plans to pay acash dividend of RMB0.43 per share.Given rising penetration in farming,better AA demand under soybean meal reduction and substitution,and the likely continued deepening of the company’s overseas expansion strategy,we maintain BUY.
Lysine&MSG volume rose;major product prices pressured
For 2025,the company’s feed-grade AA segment generated revenue of RMB10.7bn,down by 6%YoY,mainly on lower product prices.According to Boyar,the average prices of 98.5%lysine,70%lysine,and threonine were RMB8.03/kg,RMB5.06/kg,and RMB9.53/kg in 2025,down by 23%,4%,and 13%YoY,respectively.The segment gross margin fell by 4pp YoY to 21%.The umami seasoning business generated revenue of RMB7.0bn,down by 3%YoY.Sales volume rose YoY as MSG capacity continued to ramp up.The average MSG price in 2025 was RMB6,908/t,down by 10%YoY.The segment gross margin fell by 6pp YoY to 12%.Pharma-grade AA generated revenue of RMB740mn,up by 55%YoY,mainly because the acquired overseas plants expanded product sales.The segment gross margin rose by 7pp YoY to 33%.Bulk raw materials and by-products generated revenue of RMB4.0bn,up by 8%YoY.Other businesses generated revenue of RMB1.5bn,down by 23%YoY,mainly on lower oilfield-grade XG prices.The average XG price in 2025 was RMB20.3/kg,down by 19%YoY.The blended gross margin declined by 1.1pp YoY to 18.9%,mainly because prices of the company’s major products moved lower YoY.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
Given that downstream industry momentum for AA and related products has yet to recover,we lower our ASP and gross margin assumptions for AA and related products.We therefore revise down our 2026 and 2027 attributable NP forecasts to RMB2.1bn and RMB2.6bn,versus our previous estimates of RMB3.6bn and RMB3.8bn,with cuts of 41%and 33%,respectively.We also introduce our 2028 profit forecast of RMB2.9bn.We thus project YoY growth of-36%,+21%,and+15%for 2026,2027,and 2028,with EPS of RMB0.75,RMB0.91,and RMB1.05.Comparable companies trade at an average of 13x 2026E PE.Considering the growth potential of projects under construction such as pharma-grade AA,the company’s industry position in amino acids industry,and the gradual recovery in industry conditions for lysine and MSG,we apply avaluation of 17x 2026E PE and derive our target price of RMB12.75(previously RMB12.7,on 10x 2026E PE).Maintain BUY.