In "The Big Banks," Citigroup lowered the target price for SF INTRA-CITY to 13 yuan, expecting that aggressive pricing will impact profit margins

Citi published a research report stating that SF INTRA-CITY (09699.HK) is expected to achieve a sales growth of 45% and a net profit growth of 110% to RMB 278 million in 2025, in line with profit forecasts. Despite a high base, the bank expects that revenue growth can still maintain above 20% due to increased market share among major clients and strengthened cooperation with SF.

However, this growth may come at the cost of a slower recovery in profit margins, as SF INTRA-CITY may need to adopt a relatively aggressive pricing strategy. The bank anticipates that talent recruitment will keep share-based payment expenses high this year.

The bank has lowered its net profit forecasts for 2026 and 2027 by 24% and 11%, respectively, due to expectations of more aggressive pricing. The target price has been reduced from HKD 16.2 to HKD 13, maintaining an "outperform" rating based on its growth potential