华润燃气：成本下降，燃气业务盈利能力进一步增强

Investment Rating - The report assigns an investment rating of "X-xx" to the company [3] Core Views - The company's gas distribution business performed well, with segment profit increasing by 31.3% YoY [1] - The company's free cash flow surged by 562.3% YoY to HKD 1.9 billion in the first half of 2024 [1] - The company's interim dividend per share increased by 66.7% to 25 HK cents [2] - The company's core gas sales business showed good growth, while the dual-comprehensive business grew rapidly [1] Business Performance Gas Sales - Retail gas sales volume reached 20.9 billion cubic meters, up 5.3% YoY [1] - Residential users: 5.76 billion cubic meters, up 7% YoY [1] - Industrial users: 9.66 billion cubic meters, up 3.7% YoY [1] - Commercial users: 5.01 billion cubic meters, up 8.1% YoY [1] - Vehicle users: 470 million cubic meters, down 8.4% YoY [1] - Gas sales gross margin improved to 0.54 yuan/cubic meter, up 0.04 yuan/cubic meter YoY [1] - Gas sales segment profit reached HKD 4.75 billion, up 31.3% YoY [1] Comprehensive Services - Comprehensive service revenue reached HKD 1.77 billion, up 20% YoY [2] - Segment profit reached HKD 760 million, up 22.1% YoY [2] - Market share of kitchen appliances and water heaters increased from 8.7% to 9.0% [2] - Insurance agency market share increased from 25.6% to 25.8% [2] - Average revenue per household for Anju business increased from 54.2 yuan to 55.1 yuan [2] Comprehensive Energy - Comprehensive energy revenue reached HKD 830 million, up 38% YoY [2] - Gross profit reached HKD 160 million, up 84.3% YoY [2] Connection Business - New residential connection users reached 1.031 million, down 23.1% YoY [2] - The connection business continues to be affected by the real estate market [2] Financial Performance - Revenue reached HKD 52.08 billion, up 7.7% YoY [1] - Net profit attributable to shareholders reached HKD 3.46 billion, down 2.5% YoY [1] - Excluding one-time gains, net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 21.2% YoY [1] - Free cash flow reached HKD 1.9 billion, up 562.3% YoY [1] - Interim dividend per share increased by 66.7% to 25 HK cents [2] Market Position - The company is a leading gas distributor in China with strong market position [2] - The company has developed a natural gas spot trading platform and gas source network [1] - Over 160 project companies and 190 suppliers have registered on the platform [1] - Transaction volume exceeded 45 million cubic meters with transaction amount of RMB 150 million in the first month [1] Shareholder Structure - China Resources Group holds 61.46% of shares [5] - Other shareholders hold 38.54% of shares [5] Historical Data - Historical gas sales volume and gross margin trends are shown in charts [7] - Historical new residential connection numbers and dividend payout ratios are shown in charts [8]