In today’s briefing:
- PDD (PDD): 2Q25, Impacted by High Comparison Base and Overseas Expansion
- Laopu Gold (6181.HK) 25H1 – Remember to Escape Before Collapsing
- At the US-Korea Summit, Samsung’s Next Move Could Reshape the US Chipboard
- Intel Announces the Potential for Further Dilution by the US Govt Unless It Keeps Fabs
- Owens Corning: Initiation of Coverage- Unlocking $125 Million in Doors Synergies—Will Integration Drive a Margin Breakthrough?
- A New Era for Jardine Matheson: An Under-The-Radar Transformation.
- GEC: Pioneering Integrated Student Housing Solutions
- Dream International (1126 HK) H1 FY25: Steady + Dividend Increase
- Business Breakdown: Kovai Medical – A Regional Leader in a Growing National Market
- CSL Ltd (CSL AU): Announces Job Cut and Vaccine Unit Spinout Amid Strong FY25 Financial Performance
PDD (PDD): 2Q25, Impacted by High Comparison Base and Overseas Expansion
- Transaction services revenue was stagnant due to high comparison base.
- The gross margin declined significantly due to the overseas expansion.
- However, we believe revenue growth and margins will be stable in the long run.
Laopu Gold (6181.HK) 25H1 – Remember to Escape Before Collapsing
- Laopu maintained high growth in 25H1, mainly benefit from the upward cycle of gold price and the continuous improvement of the brand power. Accordingly, we raised our 2025 performance forecast.
- The key issue here is the sustainability of performance during stable and declining cycle of gold hasn’t been verified. Especially when gold price drops, it will also cause inventory depreciation.
- Laopu cannot “escape” the gold price cycle.The Fed’s rate cuts are usually accompanied by fluctuations in asset prices, and gold may also face sell-off, which may lead to valuation decline.
At the US-Korea Summit, Samsung’s Next Move Could Reshape the US Chipboard
- Samsung has scaled back its Texas fab plans from 44 billion to 37 billion, but the summit may bring a top-up with Intel and Amkor partnerships.
- Intel is shifting glass substrate patents to an Arm-like royalty model backed by SoftBank’s 2 billion stake and a 10 percent US government holding.
- Samsung’s partnership would show alignment with US semiconductor policy at a time when subsidies and political backing matter as much as technology.
Intel Announces the Potential for Further Dilution by the US Govt Unless It Keeps Fabs
- Semi-Cap names outperforming an otherwise dreary tape after TSMC announces no Chinese equipment in its 2nm lines for fear of US reprisals
- Yields rose on concerns it’s going to be a ‘one and done’ situation after September cuts
- Trend Micro looking interesting after rebounding off the lows yesterday – with OTC prints possibly pointing to a seller getting cleaned up after 2-months of woeful price action
Owens Corning: Initiation of Coverage- Unlocking $125 Million in Doors Synergies—Will Integration Drive a Margin Breakthrough?
- Owens Corning’s second quarter of 2025 demonstrated a blend of strategic advancement and lingering market challenges.
- The company reported a 10% revenue increase compared to the prior year, with revenues reaching notable highs due partly to the addition of its Doors business in May of the previous year.
- This addition reflects strategic diversification efforts to capture a larger share of the building products market in North America and Europe despite a softening market environment.
A New Era for Jardine Matheson: An Under-The-Radar Transformation.
After Ben Keswick took over Jardine Matheson, the company has slowly transitioned away from being an owner-operator to more of a portfolio manager.
The privatization of Jardine Strategic was under-priced, but it also simplified the corporate structure. That should be positive for minorities in the long term.
Jardine Matheson’s own board has now been stacked with private equity professionals. And new CEO Lincoln Pan comes from private equity firm PAG, where he built up its non-China business.
GEC: Pioneering Integrated Student Housing Solutions
- What you need to know: • GEC has over 33 years of operating history with deep education roots, offering student housing and academic services across 24 locations.
- • GEC has a proven track record of value creation with a 3x return on the sale of SSCC and strong gains on multiple real estate assets; GEC will now focus on transitioning to a student housing pure play company.
- • The Company has a development pipeline of ~2,900 beds and over $40M in revenue coming online over the next five years, supported by favourable government policy and elite development partners.
Dream International (1126 HK) H1 FY25: Steady + Dividend Increase
- Dream International (1126 HK) reported a solid result with revenues/profits up 12%/10% YoY, led by a healthy growth in both the plush and plastic toy segments
- The company sees an opportunity in growing its presence in China locally to counter the tariff threats. We will get more color on this in the Sept 1st conference call.
- Trading at 13.5x FY25 PE, with net cash 15% of the market cap, a 4% dividend yield, and a four-year ROCE averaging >20%, we would explore the name on dips.
Business Breakdown: Kovai Medical – A Regional Leader in a Growing National Market
- Kovai Medical is entering Chennai with a 300–400 bed facility, marking its first move beyond Coimbatore and strengthening its presence in a high-growth metro market.
- The medical college now contributes 7% of revenue, up from 3% in FY22, ensuring recurring cash flows and deeper clinical-academic integration.
- Consistent investments in advanced robotics and AI-driven systems enhance KMCH’s differentiation, positioning it to capture premium demand and medical tourism opportunities in Southern India.
CSL Ltd (CSL AU): Announces Job Cut and Vaccine Unit Spinout Amid Strong FY25 Financial Performance
- CSL Ltd (CSL AU) announced major strategic initiatives targeting annual pre-tax cost savings of >$500M by end of FY28. The initiatives will result in 15% reduction in CSL’s employee base.
- CSL intends to demerge CSL Seqirus as a substantial ASX-listed entity by FY26. The remaining CSL group will continue to have leading market positions in multiple rare and serious diseases.
- CSL reported on-target financial performance for FY25. The company has guided for FY26 revenue growth of 4–5% and NPATA (excluding non-recurring restructuring cost) of $3.45B–3.55B, up 7–10%.
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