Master Kong (00322.HK) saw its stock price rise this morning (9th) to 10.9 yuan, an increase of 9.2%, making it the blue chip with the largest gain, with a transaction amount of 0.129 billion yuan.

Goldman Sachs released a report stating that Master Kong (00322.HK) management, including the Chief Financial Officer, participated in the Greater China Consumer and Leisure Corporate Day event held by the bank yesterday (8th). The bank quoted Master Kong management as indicating that last year's sales may have been impacted by price increases (instant noodle prices were raised starting in October last year), but the expected growth target for net profit (10% to 15%) has upside potential.

The bank expects that Master Kong's revenue performance in the fourth quarter last year will outperform the third quarter, with positive growth in the sales volume of carbonated drinks/instant noodles compared to the same period last year; since the price of flour decreased both quarterly and annually in the fourth quarter, the cost of raw materials had a positive impact on profit margins, offsetting the effects of rising palm oil prices.

Goldman Sachs pointed out that Master Kong's instant noodles' market share in the fourth quarter continued to decline (although the rate of decline was narrower compared to the previous quarter), while the growth in beverage sales primarily came from the 500 ml regular packaging, offsetting the decrease in sales of the 1-liter large package drinks due to price increases.

Regarding the outlook for 2025, Master Kong hopes that revenue will grow steadily by that year, and that the profit margin will continue to improve. The company's goal is to return to its previous net profit peak (over 4 billion yuan in 2020) in 2025 through product mix upgrades, the results of the 2024 pricing actions, and improvements in operational efficiency; management emphasized that the primary task is to long-term expand profit margins, with the goal of doubling the net profit margin.

Goldman Sachs gave Master Kong a 'Neutral' rating and a target price of 10.6 yuan.