Ge Long Hui·2025-08-30 04:10Core Viewpoint - China Resources Gas reported a decline in revenue and net profit for the first half of 2025, with revenue at HKD 49.785 billion, down 4.4% year-on-year, and net profit attributable to shareholders at HKD 2.403 billion, down 30.5%, which was below expectations [1] Group 1: Sales Performance - Retail natural gas sales volume for 1H25 was 20.76 billion cubic meters, a slight decrease of 0.69% year-on-year, with residential gas volume increasing by 4.2% while industrial and commercial gas volumes decreased by 2.2% and 2.6% respectively [2] - The sales gross margin reached HKD 0.55 per cubic meter, an increase of HKD 0.01 per cubic meter year-on-year, indicating a steady improvement in profitability despite the decline in industrial and commercial sales [2] - The company aims to further tap into the "urban village" transformation opportunities for residential user development and continue to actively develop industrial and commercial clients, with new users expected to contribute over 840 million cubic meters annually [2] Group 2: User Connection and Profitability - The number of new residential connection users decreased by 19.4% to 831,000, leading to a decline in connection segment profit to HKD 844 million, down 24.9% year-on-year [3] - Despite the decline in connection performance, the impact on overall profitability is manageable as the connection segment's contribution to total pre-tax profit has decreased to 19.4% [3] - The cumulative number of natural gas users reached 61.372 million, providing a solid foundation for the company's dual-service business growth [3] Group 3: Financial Health and Investor Returns - The company maintained a stable capital expenditure of HKD 2.45 billion in 1H25, with cash and bank deposits amounting to HKD 11.24 billion [4] - The debt financing cost decreased to 2.2%, leading to a 43.9% reduction in financial costs to HKD 310 million, indicating strong liquidity [4] - The company has repurchased 273,000 shares and plans to continue repurchasing over 45 million shares, while maintaining a minimum dividend payout of HKD 0.95 per share, resulting in a minimum dividend yield of 4.99% [4]