Earnings Beat on Cost Edge
发布时间:2026-11-06 来源:华泰证券
Spring Airlines’9M26 revenue rose by 15.4%YoY to RMB19,353mn,while the attributable net profit fell by 21.1%YoY to RMB1,843mn.For 3Q26,revenue rose by 8.5%YoY to RMB7,017mn,and the attributable net profit fell by 31.4%YoY to RMB801mn.For 9M26,the net profit beat our estimate of RMB1,700mn by 8%,mainly on better-than-expected cost control.Industry fares were weak during the summer peak,limiting the pass-through of higher fuel prices.While Spring saw its 3Q profit fall YoY,its cost advantage still resulted in it faring relatively well in the industry in terms of earnings,in our view.We expect LCC penetration in China to keep rising.As the segment leader with industry-leading operating efficiency,Spring is expected to continue increase profit as industry supply-demand improves and anti-involution measures take hold,in our view.Maintain BUY.
PLF up from ahigh base,yields under pressure
Spring’s 3Q26 supply growth slowed slightly,likely owing to ahigh base in the peak season and cuts to flight on Japan routes,in our view,but remained well above the industry level,reflecting Spring’s low-cost operating advantage.Total ASK rose by 8.9%YoY,vs 14.5%in 2Q.The passenger load factor(PLF)rose by 1.2pp YoY to 93.7%.For international routes,ASK fell by 5.1%YoY,while the PLF rose by 1.1pp YoY to 90.3%.For domestic routes,as capacity kept growing rapidly,ASK increased by 12.3%YoY and the PLF grew by 1.1pp YoY to 94.5%.We estimate that the 3Q yield unit RPK fell by c.2%YoY.Considering that industry supply grew rapidly during the peak season amid intense competition,fuel surcharges were insufficient to pass through higher fuel costs.
Fuel costs weigh,but cost control is solid;earnings beat
For 3Q26,operating cost rose by 20.5%YoY to RMB5,942mn,with the unit ASK cost up by 10.7%YoY,of which average ex-factory jet fuel prices increased by 42%YoY.We estimate that the unit ex-fuel cost fell by c.3%YoY,reflecting solid cost control that partly cushioned the earnings pressure.For 3Q26,the gross margin declined by 8.4pp YoY to 15.3%,with agross profit of RMB1,075mn,down by 30.1%YoY.The attributable net profit decreased by 31.4%YoY to RMB801mn.Despite the YoY decline,the 3Q earnings drop was smaller than we expected in ahigh-fuel-cost environment,owing to the company's low-cost model and strong operational management.
Low-cost penetration to continue;resilient through cycles
Spring continues to demonstrate resilience through industry-wide shocks such as high fuel prices.Leveraging its low-cost advantage,it is growing capacity well ahead of the industry and delivering leading profitability.Its fleet reached 140 aircraft at end-September.We expect industry supply growth to remain subdued in the near term,pending adecline in fuel prices.Over the medium to long term,we expect low-cost carriers to keep gaining penetration as leisure and family travel demand in China stays robust.As the segment leader,Spring is well positioned for price-sensitive travelers.Combined with its cost advantage and the gradual implementation of anti-involution measures in the industry,we expect yields and earnings to keep improving.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
We slightly revise up our 2026/2027/2028 attributable net profit forecasts,by 2/1/2%to RMB1,679/3,032/3,989mn,with EPS of RMB1.72/3.10/4.08.The increase reflects better 3Q cost control and earnings than we expected.We maintain our 2026E PB valuation at 3.2x,the average since listing,with our 2026E BVPS now at RMB19.33(previous:RMB19.30).Our target price is RMB61.85(previous:RMB61.80).BUY.
Risks:sharp fuel price increases,high-speed rail acceleration,weaker air travel demand than we expect,larger subsidy cuts than we expect,industry capacity growth exceeding our expectations,and safety incidents.