The Zhitong Finance App learned that BOCI released a research report stating that it maintained the “buy” rating of China Education Holdings (00839), slightly lowered the profit forecast, and lowered the target price to HK$7.14.

According to the report, the company announced its results for the first half of fiscal year 2024. Sales rose 18.3% year on year, higher than market expectations; net profit growth rate slowed to 4.5% year on year, and sales growth reached 19.2%, but was dragged down by rising costs and taxes. The payout ratio is 44.7%.

In addition, the Group plans to invest 3 billion yuan to expand the student capacity of the campus by 25,000 over the next 2 to 3 years, bringing the annual capital expenditure of FY2024 to about 4.5 billion yuan.