Zhongyuan Expressway(SH:600020) Mei Ri Jing Ji Xin Wen·2025-11-03 13:33Core Viewpoint - The highway listed companies are facing a critical question regarding their future growth paths, whether to deepen their core business or to explore external opportunities, leading to a significant transformation involving hundreds of billions in capital [1] Group 1: Revenue Trends - Revenue growth in the traditional toll road business is showing signs of fatigue, with construction income emerging as a key variable affecting overall revenue [2] - Construction income, primarily from PPP projects, can rapidly increase scale but typically has a zero gross margin, thus not directly enhancing profitability [2] - For example, Chutian Expressway's revenue is projected to grow by 37.27% in 2024, largely due to increased construction income [2] Group 2: Cost Management - To maintain or enhance profitability, highway listed companies are focusing on reducing costs and expenses, particularly financial costs, which have significant room for compression [3] - Zhongyuan Expressway reported a 22.20% increase in revenue for 2024, while simultaneously reducing sales, management, and financial expenses by 38.47%, 8.57%, and 17.15% respectively [3] Group 3: Expansion Strategies - Companies are increasingly using capital to drive expansion in their core business, with a focus on acquiring operational highway projects rather than new constructions [4] - Shandong Expressway has expanded its core business into several provinces, acquiring operational projects [5] - Wuhu Expressway is also actively investing in highway projects through equity investments [5] Group 4: Diversification Efforts - Many companies are exploring second growth curves, with the renewable energy sector being a favored area for diversification [6] - For instance, Zhongyuan Expressway has signed contracts related to the lithium battery supply chain and electric vehicle charging [6] - Some companies have established mature diversified business segments, such as Shen Expressway, where clean energy and waste resource processing accounted for approximately 19.14% of total revenue in the first half of 2025 [7] Group 5: Investment Funds and Light Asset Models - Highway listed companies are increasingly utilizing capital tools for light asset diversification [9] - Companies like Zhongyuan Expressway and Ganyue Expressway have made significant investments in industrial investment funds [10] - Ganyue Expressway's investment management subsidiary reported a net profit of 50.1 million yuan in 2024, focusing on high-tech and high-quality industries [11]