Glonghui, May 21 | Lyon published a research report saying that Minhua Holdings' sales for the 2024 fiscal year increased 6.1% year-on-year, 1.7% higher than expected. This was mainly due to a 26.6% increase in sales of soft products during the period, but this was partly offset by an 18.7% drop in average sales prices. Due to the decline in raw material prices during the period, gross margin increased by 0.9 percentage points to 39.4%, and the net profit margin also increased 1.5 percentage points to 12.5%, 0.6 percentage points higher than the bank's expectations. Management expects export performance to be stronger in the next few years as de-inventorization in overseas markets is basically over. Lyon pointed out that Minhua will strive to increase market share by strengthening brand building and marketing, adding stores and more effective product layout, so as to stabilize the growth of the Chinese market. Based on more favorable property market measures, Lyon maintained Minhua's “outperforming the market” rating and raised the target price from HK$6.2 to HK$8.1.