Driven by industrial demand, China Construction Bank International expects the group's gas sales profit to maintain healthy growth this year.
According to the report from China Construction Bank International, the rating for Kunlun Energy (00135) was maintained as "outperform the market", considering the downward adjustment of the profit rate forecast for retail gas sales business and the decrease in contribution from joint ventures. The bank further lowered the profit forecast for the group in 2024-2026 by 10%, 8%, and 8% respectively. The target price was also reduced from HKD 9 to HKD 8.5.
The report points out that the company's retail gas volume increased by 9% last year. Driven by industrial demand, the bank expects the group's gas sales profit to maintain healthy growth this year. The bank stated that after leasing more gas stations, the group will transfer more costs and expect the unit profit to remain stable this year. The bank expects Kunlun to achieve high single-digit growth in pre-tax profit from retail gas sales business this year, similar to the 8.5% growth rate of last year.