CSCEC(601668) 光大证券·2024-10-28 13:12Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for China State Construction Engineering Corporation (601668.SH) [1] Core Views - The company's performance has been under pressure, with a year-on-year decline in revenue and net profit, but operational cash flow has improved sequentially [1] - New contract signings have shown steady growth, particularly in industrial buildings, energy, and water resources, indicating a robust pipeline [1] - The company has a favorable land reserve structure, which is expected to provide resilience in its real estate business as market conditions improve [1] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - For the first nine months of 2024, the company reported revenues of 162.65 billion yuan, a decrease of 2.7% year-on-year, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 39.7 billion yuan, down 9.1% [1] - In Q3 2024, the company achieved revenues of 48.19 billion yuan, with a net profit of 10.3 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year decline of 13.6% and 30.2% respectively [1] Contracting and Business Growth - The total new contracts signed in the first nine months of 2024 reached 324.79 billion yuan, an increase of 4.7% year-on-year, with significant growth in infrastructure and design services [1] - The company’s domestic and international new contracts amounted to 282.90 billion yuan and 15.84 billion yuan, respectively, with year-on-year growth of 5.4% and 88.3% [1] Land Reserves and Real Estate - The company’s real estate sales and area sold decreased by 21.9% and 28.9% respectively, but it added 4.72 million square meters of land reserves, primarily in first-tier and strong second-tier cities [1] - The total land reserves at the end of the period stood at 82.04 million square meters, indicating a strong position for future recovery in the real estate sector [1] Cash Flow and Financial Management - The company has effectively managed expenses, with a sequential improvement in operating cash flow, reporting a net cash outflow of 77.01 billion yuan for the first nine months of 2024, which is a reduction of 31.76 billion yuan from the previous quarter [1] - The investment income ratio improved, with total investments completed amounting to 212.1 billion yuan and investment returns of 258.1 billion yuan, leading to a significant increase in the investment income ratio [1]