中国燃气：顺价推进毛差修复，维持派息回馈股东

Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for the company [1] Core Views - The company experienced a revenue decline of 2.6% year-on-year to HKD 35.11 billion in the first half of the 2024/25 fiscal year, while gross profit increased by 2.3% to HKD 5.86 billion. The attributable profit decreased by 3.8% to HKD 1.76 billion [3][6] - The company plans to distribute an interim dividend of HKD 0.15 per share, unchanged from the previous year, resulting in a dividend yield of 7.8% based on the closing price on December 6, 2024 [4][10] - Natural gas retail volume grew by 1.4% year-on-year, with a gross margin increase to HKD 0.59 per cubic meter. The full-year gross margin guidance remains at HKD 0.53 per cubic meter, while the retail gas growth forecast has been adjusted down to 2% [3][7] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - For the first half of the 2024/25 fiscal year, the company reported a revenue of HKD 35.11 billion, a decrease of 2.6% year-on-year, and a gross profit of HKD 5.86 billion, an increase of 2.3%. The attributable profit was HKD 1.76 billion, down 3.8% [3][6] - The natural gas sales segment saw a revenue decline of 9.6% to HKD 19.64 billion, while segment profit increased by 6.3% to HKD 1.66 billion [4][7] Business Segments - The LPG business segment reported a revenue increase of 13.5% to HKD 9.558 billion, but segment profit decreased to HKD 2.01 million. The value-added services segment's revenue rose by 1.0% to HKD 2.57 billion, with segment profit increasing by 11.0% to HKD 1.24 billion [4][10] - The company achieved 904,000 new residential connections in the first half of the fiscal year, with a full-year target of 1.2 to 1.4 million connections [8] Future Outlook - The company expects attributable net profits for the fiscal years 2024/25, 2025/26, and 2026/27 to reach HKD 3.763 billion, HKD 3.992 billion, and HKD 4.423 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 18.1%, 6.1%, and 10.8% respectively [4][10]