Core Viewpoint - The company has adjusted its 2025 net profit forecast down by 6.1% to 3.683 billion yuan due to unexpected declines in capital expenditure from downstream operators, while introducing a net profit forecast of 3.762 billion yuan for 2026 [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - The company's 2024 revenue and net profit fell below expectations, with operating revenue at 150 billion yuan (up 0.9% year-on-year) and net profit at 3.61 billion yuan (up 0.6% year-on-year) [2] - In the second half of 2024, operating revenue was 75.59 billion yuan (up 0.2% year-on-year) and net profit was 1.48 billion yuan (down 4.4% year-on-year) [2] Group 2: Market Segments - Revenue from the operator market grew by 2.3% to 83.6 billion yuan, while the customer market revenue declined by 2.0% to 62.2 billion yuan, and overseas market revenue increased by 22.3% to 4.2 billion yuan [3] - The company has seen a 29% year-on-year increase in new contracts for strategic emerging businesses, with revenue from China Telecom growing by 8.7% [3] - The customer market's new contracts increased by over 6% to approximately 93 billion yuan, with strategic emerging business contracts growing by over 32% [3] Group 3: Cost Management and Profitability - The company's operating costs increased by 0.8% year-on-year, while gross margin improved by 0.1 percentage points to 11.7% [4] - Research and development expenses were 5.57 billion yuan (up 0.3% year-on-year), focusing on strategic emerging fields [4] - The company's return on equity (ROE) decreased by 0.4 percentage points to 8.2% [4] Group 4: Cash Flow and Dividends - The company reported a net cash flow from operating activities of 6.221 billion yuan (up 16.1% year-on-year) and free cash flow of 5.21 billion yuan (up 20.1% year-on-year) [5] - The company maintained a dividend payout ratio of 42%, unchanged from the previous year [5]
中金：维持中国通信服务(00552)“跑赢行业”评级 目标价5.10港元