Tianfeng Securities released a research report stating that maintaining the “buy” rating of China Resources Gas (01193), the net profit returned to mother is estimated to be HK$57.3, 63.7, and 7.15 billion HK$7.15 billion respectively, up 9.7%, 11.2% and 12.2% year-on-year. The market will gradually return to normal in 2024, and the gradual recovery of downstream natural gas demand. Continued promotion of the favorable price policy will have a positive impact on the company's gross sales margin, but the market is still in a fragile balance and faces many uncertainties.
According to the report, China Resources Gas continues to explore market space and expand the scale of operations. In 2023, there were 4 new registration projects at the group level, 3 new projects signed at the member enterprise level, and 4 new registration projects. During the year, the company completed the financial consolidation of Chongqing Gas, an increase in shares in the Xiamen project, and the holding of Kunming Gas, continuously expanding its market space and consolidating the basic market of the main gas business. In terms of dividends, the company plans to pay HK$1.1569 per share in 2023, an increase of 10.2% over the previous year; the annual dividend ratio is 50.3%, the same as in 2022. The dividend payout ratio in 2023 was 20.5pct higher than 2016.