北方华创(002371)Solid Q3 earnings signal intact growth trajectory
北方华创(002371)
9M24 results showed Naura is on track with stellar growth. 9M24revenue grew 39.5% YoY, benefiting from continuously strong sales ofdomestic semiconductor equipment (up 47.0% YoY in 9M24) due to China’ssemi localization trend. 2025E bookings remain a key focus for mostinvestors but have not been announced yet (2024 bookings wereannounced in Jan, 2024). We maintain our sales growth forecasts for2024/25E at 39.7%/26.5% YoY.
Margin decreased 5.1ppts QoQ in 3Q24, a similar seasonality observedin 3Q23 (down 7.0ppts) in addition to a negative impact from increased PVequipment sales. We revise down our 2024/25E GPM forecast by1.3ppts/1.1ppts to reflect the seasonality trend in 2024/25E, but we expectGPM to continue its upward trend (43.7%/44.3%) in 2024/25E on afavourable product mix. We slightly lower our NP forecasts by 3%/4% in24/25E considering continued investments in R&D.
Maintain BUY with TP adjusted to RMB426, based on 30x rollover2025E P/E, close to its historical 2-year forward P/E. New TP also reflects1.0x PEG. Potential risks include 1) worsening China-US trade relations, 2)heightened geopolitical tensions, 3) slower-than-expected R&D.