According to a report from TechNews, Goldman Sachs released a research report stating that it had a "neutral" rating on Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (00981) with a target price of HKD 22.4, up 5% from HKD 21.4.

The report stated that demand for consumer electronics and smart phone replenishment continues to support its shipment volume and delivery volume in the third quarter. However, due to the fact that customers usually review and adjust orders within the quarter, there is still uncertainty in the fourth quarter. Benefiting from product mix improvement, management’s revenue and gross margin guidance for the third quarter exceeded expectations, with revenue expected to grow 13% to 15% from quarter to quarter, and gross margin expected to reach 18% to 20%. The company also expects full-year revenue growth to outperform its peers, with second-half revenue expected to exceed first-half revenue.

According to the bank, based on the performance of SMIC in the next quarter and guidance for the third quarter, its profit forecasts for each year from 2024 to 2028 have been raised by 64%, 5%, 4%, 4% and 2%, respectively. In addition, revenue is expected to rise by 5% in 2024, 2% in 2025-26, and 3% in 2027-28. Gross margin forecast for 2024 has been raised by 2.3 percentage points, while slight adjustments of 0.1 percentage points have been made for each year from 2025 to 2027, and the forecast for 2028 remains unchanged.