Adoption Of AI And New Insurance Products May Shape Future Prospects Amid Profit Margin Concerns

Key Takeaways

• Technological innovations and digital transformation are set to reduce operational losses and enhance net margins.
  
• New product introductions and focus on growing sectors may drive significant future revenue and profitability.
  
• Reduced consumer finance operations and debt obligations may adversely affect profitability, earnings, and financial stability amidst macroeconomic challenges.

Catalysts

An Internet-based Insurtech company, engages in the provision of internet insurance and insurance information technology services in the People’s Republic of China.

• The company has achieved significant growth in technology export revenue, increasing by 55.5% year-on-year, driven by client expansion in various sectors, suggesting potential for future revenue growth.
  
• ZhongAn’s digital transformation initiatives, especially the use of AI and technological innovations, are expected to reduce operational losses in the technology segment, potentially improving net margins.
  
• ZA Bank has shown strong financial growth with a 45.9% increase in net income, improving its cost-to-income ratio, which could contribute to earnings growth and profitability.
  
• The introduction of innovative insurance products, such as pet insurance and scenario-based accident insurance, indicates new revenue streams that could boost overall revenue.
  
• The company's focus on sectors like new energy vehicles with a 215% increase in premiums for such vehicles, leverages growing market trends, which may positively impact future revenue and profitability.

ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Future Earnings and Revenue Growth

Assumptions

• Analysts are assuming ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance's revenue will grow by 9.6% annually over the next 3 years.
• Analysts assume that profit margins will shrink from 12.5% today to 2.1% in 3 years time.
• Analysts expect earnings to reach CN¥860.7 million (and earnings per share of CN¥0.69) by about February 2028, down from CN¥3.9 billion today. However, there is a considerable amount of disagreement amongst the analysts with the most bullish expecting CN¥1.8 billion in earnings, and the most bearish expecting CN¥309.1 million.
• In order for the above numbers to justify the analysts price target, the company would need to trade at a PE ratio of 35.0x on those 2028 earnings, up from 4.4x today. This future PE is greater than the current PE for the HK Insurance industry at 7.7x.
• Analysts expect the number of shares outstanding to grow by 3.4% per year for the next 3 years.
• To value all of this in today's terms, we will use a discount rate of 7.8%, as per the Simply Wall St company report.

ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Future Earnings Per Share Growth

Risks

• Facing a challenging macroeconomic environment, ZhongAn has strategically reduced the scale of its consumer finance business, which has resulted in a decrease in insurance service revenue in this segment, potentially impacting overall earnings and profitability.
  
• The technology segment, while experiencing growth, has faced significant losses in the past. Although these losses have narrowed, the segment's profitability remains a concern that could impact net margins.
  
• The combined ratio in the consumer finance segment increased significantly, reflecting higher loss ratios which could affect underwriting profitability and overall financial performance.
  
• ZhongAn's net spread might be squeezed due to lower interest rates, impacting net interest margins and potentially affecting the earnings of ZA Bank.
  
• With outstanding U.S. dollar-denominated debt and the obligation to repay $590 million by July 2025, ZhongAn's costs related to refinancing or debt servicing could impact financial stability and future earnings growth.

Valuation

• The analysts have a consensus price target of HK$15.263 for ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of HK$20.87, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just HK$12.2.
  
• In order for you to agree with the analyst's consensus, you'd need to believe that by 2028, revenues will be CN¥41.2 billion, earnings will come to CN¥860.7 million, and it would be trading on a PE ratio of 35.0x, assuming you use a discount rate of 7.8%.
  
• Given the current share price of HK$12.04, the analyst price target of HK$15.26 is 21.1% higher. Despite analysts expecting the underlying buisness to decline, they seem to believe it's more valuable than what the market thinks.
  
• We always encourage you to reach your own conclusions though. So sense check these analyst numbers against your own assumptions and expectations based on your understanding of the business and what you believe is probable.