[ET Net News Agency, 29 October 2019] Jefferies Research initiated coverage on Haidilao
International Holding (06862) with a "hold" rating and a target price of HK$36.3.
It said Haidilao stands out from its peers on service and food quality (e.g., signature
dishes development such as hand-pulled noodles prepared along with a noodle dance), which
is also reasonably priced.
It currently has a pool of 800 candidates for future store management positions.
Haidilao has a target to grow its network to 2-3,000 stores over the next 5-10 years
based on penetration per city and the number of shopping malls to be built in the
future.
Haidilao opened 130 gross stores in China, which is in line with its full year target of
250-300 gross stores. Jefferies expects it to deliver EPS CAGR of 39% for 2019-21 on (1)
net profit growth of 49/47/32%; (2) average unit growth of 64/49/31%; and (3) operating
profit growth of 44%/46/31% with SSS of 3-5% each year. (KL)