The Zhitong Finance App learned that China Galaxy Securities released a research report saying that with the gradual development of policies to expand domestic demand and promote consumption in the future, domestic demand for home appliances is expected to be supported. Combined with the gradual elimination of overseas inventories, the export improvement trend is expected to continue, the boom in the home appliance industry is expected to continue to recover, and the current sector valuation still has a margin of safety. It is recommended to focus on three main investment lines: 1. White electric faucets, which are expected to benefit from improved domestic and foreign sales, recommend Midea Group (000333.SZ) and Haier Smart Home (600690.SH); 2. Kitchen appliances that are expected to benefit from optimized industry patterns, recommend Boss Electric Appliances (002508.SZ); 3. To actively promote channel expansion and accelerate the launch of new products, we recommend Stone Technology (688169.SH).

The main views of China Galaxy Securities are as follows:

Consumer electronics companies are growing faster, and trade-in is expected to drive demand release. According to data from the Bureau of Statistics, in January-January 2024, the total retail sales of social consumer goods such as household appliances and audiovisual equipment was 131 billion yuan, a slight increase of 5.7% over the previous year. The effects of holiday promotions were evident, increasing the zero growth rate of home appliances. In the future, as the trade-in policy takes effect, there is still room to unleash the consumption potential of home appliances.

Demand for air conditioning was released early, and ice washing exports performed strongly under a low base. According to industry online data, in February 2024, sales of household air conditioners were 12.32,800 units, a year-on-year decrease of 11.1%, including domestic sales of 6.0692 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 13.44%, and export shipments of 6.2516 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 8.7%, mainly due to a slowdown in the pace of shipments after the Spring Festival holiday. The improvement in overseas demand was compounded by the impact of a low base in the same period last year, and cold washing exports grew strongly year-on-year: washing machine sales in February were 5.6454 million units, up 4.20% year on year. Among them, domestic and foreign sales were 272.45 and 2,729,900 units, respectively, with year-on-year changes of -12.92% and 27.59%, respectively. In February, refrigerator sales were 5.683 million units, up 4.35% year on year. Among them, domestic and foreign sales were 2.693 million units and 3.17 million units respectively, a year-on-year change of -20.28% and 41.48%, respectively.

Annual reports have been revealed one after another, and the performance of leading home appliances has grown beautifully. Listed companies have released their 2023 annual reports one after another. Specifically, Haier Smart Home achieved operating income of 261,428 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 7.3% over the previous year; net profit to mother reached 16.597 billion yuan, an increase of 12.8% over the previous year. Midea Group achieved operating income of 372,037 billion yuan in 2023, up 8.18% year on year; net profit to mother was 33.720 billion yuan, up 14.10% year on year. In 2023, Stone Technology achieved operating revenue of 8.654 billion yuan, an increase of 30.55% year on year; net profit to mother was 2,051 billion yuan, an increase of 73.32% year on year. As the results of listed companies are released one after another, sector investment sentiment is expected to be boosted.

Risk warning: risk of demand improvement falling short of expectations; risk of changes in raw material prices; risk of uncertainty in exports of household appliances.