CHINA TOWER(00788) 招银国际·2024-08-27 06:14Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Hold" rating for China Tower (788 HK) with a target price adjusted to HKD 0.95, reflecting a potential downside of 3.2% from the current price of HKD 0.98 [1][3]. Core Insights - The three major telecom operators in China have reduced capital expenditures by 5.4% in 2024, shifting their investment focus from 5G deployment to high-growth areas like cloud computing and computing power [1]. - Traditional communication business revenue growth is slowing, with China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom reporting growth rates of 2.5%, 2.1%, and 4.3% respectively in the first half of 2024 [1]. - Cost control measures have led to a decrease in operating costs as a percentage of revenue for the telecom operators, which is expected to impact China Tower's traditional communication business [1]. - China Tower's traditional tower revenue is projected to grow at a modest rate of around 1% year-on-year for 2024 and 2025, while its indoor distribution and two wings businesses (Smart Connection and Energy) are expected to achieve double-digit growth [1]. Financial Summary - Revenue for FY24 is estimated at RMB 97,865 million, with a year-on-year growth of 4.1%, and projected to reach RMB 101,661 million in FY25 with a growth of 3.9% [2][7]. - Net profit for FY24 is forecasted to be RMB 10,543 million, reflecting an 8.1% increase, and is expected to grow to RMB 12,302 million in FY25, representing a 16.7% increase [2][7]. - Earnings per share (EPS) is projected to be RMB 6.03 for FY24 and RMB 7.04 for FY25, with respective growth rates of 8.1% and 16.7% [2][7]. Business Segments - Tower business accounted for 79% of China Tower's total revenue in the first half of 2024, maintaining stability with quarter-on-quarter growth rates of 1.7% and 0.3% in the first two quarters [1]. - The Smart Connection business saw a revenue increase of 17.6% year-on-year, while the Energy business grew by 2.4% in the same period, with the tower's Smart Connection revenue growing by 20.9% to RMB 2.5 billion [1].