Haier Smart Home Shares Rise on First-Quarter Profit Growth, Buyback Plan

By Yifan Wang

Haier Smart Home Co. shares jumped Friday as investors welcomed the Chinese home-appliance maker's profit increase and a new share buyback plan.

The company's Hong Kong-listed stock rose as much as 5.9% in early trade, while its mainland China-listed shares advanced by as much as 5.7%. Shares were last up 5.7% in Hong Kong and 5.3% in Shanghai.

The rally came after Haier posted a 13% increase in first-quarter net profit late Thursday.

Also on Thursday, the company said it would buy back at least 1.5 billion yuan (US$216.6 million) worth of China-listed shares, up to a total of CNY3.0 billion.

In a note, Citi analysts characterized Haier's share repurchase program as "sizable" and projected that the buyback would "be positive for its share price."

The Citi analysts also noted margin improvements in Haier's China operations during the March quarter, which they think can be sustained over the rest of the year.

"We remain confident in Haier's margin expansion in 2023, given raw material tailwind, solid high-end appliance demand in China and savings of selling expenses," the Citi analysts said.

Write to Yifan Wang at yifan.wang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2023 23:28 ET (03:28 GMT)

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