SINOLINK SECURITIES·2025-05-05 12:04Investment Rating - Maintain "Buy" rating for the industry [10] Core Viewpoints - The report highlights a mixed performance across various sectors within the public utility and environmental protection industry, with coal prices declining and water supply improving, reshaping the defensive value of water and coal [3] - The overall electricity consumption growth slowed down due to a warm winter and high base effects from the previous year, impacting thermal power generation negatively [4][29] - The renewable energy sector faces profit pressure due to declining utilization rates and electricity prices, despite significant installed capacity growth [4][52] - Hydropower benefits from improved water supply and reservoir management, leading to increased revenue and profit in early 2025 [5][7] - The environmental sector shows stable performance in water and solid waste operations, with a recovery in water profitability in early 2025 [5][6] Summary by Sections 1. Overview of 2024 Reports and 2025 Q1 - The electricity industry saw a 6.7% growth in consumption in 2024, driven by structural optimization and rising demand for new energy sources [16] - The environmental sector experienced a revenue decline of 2.7% and a net profit drop of 31% in 2024, with operational efficiency improvements in existing assets [16] 2. Sector Performance from 2024 to Q1 2025 2.1 Thermal Power - Thermal power generation faced pressure from electricity prices and demand, but benefited from lower coal prices, leading to a net profit increase of 6.5% in Q1 2025 [4][36][37] 2.2 Renewable Energy - The renewable energy sector's profit was under pressure due to declining utilization rates and electricity prices, despite a 15.7% increase in wind power generation in 2024 [4][52] 2.3 Hydropower - Hydropower generation increased by 11.7% in 2024, with a significant profit increase in Q1 2025 due to improved water supply [5][7] 2.4 Environmental Protection - The environmental sector showed stable performance in water and solid waste operations, with a recovery in profitability in early 2025 [5][6] 3. Key Companies in the Sector - Focus on leading companies in thermal power, hydropower, and nuclear power, such as Huadian International, Yangtze Power, and China Nuclear Power, respectively [8]