Glonghui, April 30 | Morgan Stanley published a research report showing that CITIC Securities' revenue for the first quarter fell 10% year-on-year, mainly affected by the decline in investment banking expenses and investment income. Despite the increase in interest expenses, the company's balance sheet recorded an increase compared to the previous quarter. The cost-to-revenue ratio decreased by 0.6 percentage points year-on-year, and profit decreased by 8.5% year-on-year. The bank gave CITIC Securities a target price of HK$15.08 for H shares, giving it a “in sync with the market” rating. According to the report, the company announced that investment banking business revenue for the first quarter reached 889 million yuan, a decrease of 56% and 16% year-on-year and quarterly. Due to the tightening of financing and scrutiny of past transactions by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the overall market share financing volume, including IPOs and refinancing, has decreased by 69% year-on-year, and this situation is likely to continue in the next few quarters. Although operating income fell 10% year-on-year, sales and administrative expenses for the first quarter of 2024 decreased by 15.6% year-on-year, reflecting the company's greater emphasis on expenditure control. As a result, the cost-to-revenue ratio was reduced by 0.6 percentage points to 49.6%, which helped limit the year-on-year decline in profit to 8.5%, which may be better than market expectations.