China Unicom(SH:600050) Huajin Securities·2024-03-20 16:00Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Add-B" [3] Core Views - The company achieved a revenue of 372.6 billion RMB in 2023, a year-on-year growth of 5.0%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of 8.2 billion RMB, representing a 12.0% increase [1][5] - The company has maintained double-digit profit growth for seven consecutive years, indicating significant results in high-quality development [1] - The company’s free cash flow increased by 10.8% year-on-year, reaching 30.4 billion RMB, and its debt-to-asset ratio remained at a reasonable level of 46.0% [1][5] - The company won the GSMA Foundry "Network Efficiency Excellence Award" during the 2024 World Mobile Communications Conference, showcasing its leadership in the global shared network field [1] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In 2023, the company's main business revenue reached 335.2 billion RMB, with a gross margin of 24.5%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year [1] - The weighted average return on equity (ROE) was 5.08%, marking the best level in recent years [1] - The company’s total profit was 22.7 billion RMB, with a net profit of 8.2 billion RMB, achieving a continuous double-digit growth [1] Business Segments - The company’s connected communication business generated 244.6 billion RMB in revenue, with a user base exceeding 1 billion, an increase of approximately 140 million from the end of 2022 [1] - The penetration rate of 5G packages reached 78%, up 12 percentage points year-on-year, with mobile users totaling 333 million [1] - The broadband user base reached 113 million, with a net increase of 9.79 million, the highest in nearly a decade [1] Digital and Intelligent Services - The company's digital and intelligent business generated 75.2 billion RMB in revenue, accounting for about one-quarter of total revenue and contributing over half of the new revenue [2] - The cloud segment achieved 51 billion RMB in revenue, growing by 41.6%, with cloud resource sales exceeding 1 million cores, a 186% increase [2] - Data services maintained over 50% market share for five consecutive years, with daily data collection doubling to 1.2PB [2] Research and Development - The company increased R&D investment to 8.1 billion RMB, a year-on-year growth of 18.5%, with 40% of personnel engaged in technological innovation [5] - The company has built over 1.21 million 5G mid-frequency base stations, with a focus on enhancing network coverage [5] Future Outlook - The company plans to maintain a dividend payout ratio not lower than that of 2023, with a total dividend of 0.132 RMB per share, a 21.1% increase year-on-year [5] - Revenue forecasts for 2024-2026 are projected at 398.8 billion RMB, 426.3 billion RMB, and 455.0 billion RMB, with corresponding net profits of 9.3 billion RMB, 10.5 billion RMB, and 11.7 billion RMB [5]