King Wui Financial News | China Res Beer (00291) strengthened in the afternoon, as of the time of publication, rose by 7.12%, to 34.6 Hong Kong dollars, with a turnover of 1.533 billion Hong Kong dollars.

On the news front, CICC published a report stating that it lowered the growth forecast for China Res Beer's revenue in the second half of this year by 1 percentage point to 3%, with the beer sales forecast revised from a 1% decline to a 2% decline, considering the sluggish consumer sentiment suppressing demand, and sports events boosting demand weaker than expected. The bank believes that mid to high-end products will continue to outperform, benefiting from Heineken NV Sponsored ADR's double-digit sales growth and new channel cooperation with supermarkets. In terms of baijiu, high-end products are expected to achieve double-digit growth in the third quarter, based on the current 3 to 4 months channel inventory levels, brand upgrades, and low base numbers, maintaining a 33% year-on-year increase forecast for baijiu sales in the second half of the year.

The bank raised the target price for China Res Beer from 34.9 Hong Kong dollars to 38.1 Hong Kong dollars, maintaining an 'outperform the market' rating.