1H26 Earnings Dampened by Amino Acids Demand Downturn
发布时间:2026-08-29 来源:华泰证券
Huaheng Biotechnology released its 1H26 results on 24 August. 1H26 revenue was RMB1,630mn, up 10% YoY; attributable NP was RMB100mn, down 12% YoY; recurring attributable NP was RMB96mn, down 16% YoY. For 2Q26, revenue was RMB860mn, up 7% YoY/12% QoQ; attributable NP was RMB60mn (recurring: RMB54mn), down 8% YoY/up 40% QoQ (recurring: down 15% YoY/up 29% QoQ). 2Q26 attributable NP beat our forecast of RMB40mn, because amino acid prices performed better than we expected in 2Q. Given that the industry climate for products such as valine remains weak, we lower our 2026/2027 attributable NP forecasts. Considering that the potential market expansion of new products such as tryptophan, PDO, and succinic acid could unlock profit growth potential, we maintain OVERWEIGHT.
Soft product prices eroded GPM
In 1H26, amino acid business revenue grew 14% YoY to RMB1,200mn, driven by volume growth of tryptophan and arginine. However, due to weak demand and substantial new industry capacity, the amino acid product climate was lukewarm. According to boyar.cn, in 1H26, valine/tryptophan/arginine average market prices were RMB13.63/34.53/23.71 per kg, down 4/33/17% YoY, and the amino acid segment's gross margin fell 4.7pp YoY to 25.9% in 1H26. The vitamin product climate was also soft, with 1H26 vitamin business revenue down 2% YoY to RMB78mn, but product mix optimization lifted gross margin by 15.2pp YoY to 27.6%. In 1H26, the company's overall gross margin fell 0.5pp YoY to 23.6%, and the expense ratio rose 2.5pp YoY to 17.5%. For 2Q26, overall gross margin was 25.9%, up 2pp YoY/5pp QoQ, owing to price increases for certain amino acid products driven by geopolitical conflicts and overseas panic buying ahead of potential tariffs. According to boyar.cn, in 2Q26, valine/tryptophan/arginine average market prices were RMB13.19/35.14/25.45 per kg, -6/+4/+16% QoQ.
New project increments likely to unleash
According to boyar.cn, on 24 August, valine/tryptophan/arginine market quotes were RMB11.05/28.50/21.00 per kg, +3/-3%/flat vs end-June (-19/-12/+1% vs beginning of the year). Due to weak demand and the release of new industry capacity, the amino acid climate remains at a relatively low level over the past five years, and we expect a significant recovery in the product climate to still take some time. Regarding new projects, per the interim report, the company's projects under construction include an alternating 60ktpa branched-chain amino acids/tryptophan and 10ktpa refined amino acids project, and a malic acid co-producing tryptophan project. Meanwhile, the company is advancing the industrialization of bio-based new material monomers such as 1,3-propanediol (PDO), which could contribute new growth highlights in the future.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
Considering that the climate for products such as valine remains weak, we lower our amino acid product price and gross margin forecasts. We forecast 2026/2027 attributable NP of RMB280/310mn (previous: RMB380/430mn, down 26%/28%), and introduce a 2028 attributable NP forecast of RMB340mn, implying a 2026-2028 attributable NP CAGR of 37%. We value the stock at 15x 2027E PE, at par with the comparable companies' average of 15x on Wind consensus for 2027. Our target price is RMB18.60 (previous: RMB37.12, on 32x 2025E PE vs. peers' 32x)
Risks: slower progress in the construction of new projects than we expect; the loss of core technologies.