Data Centers and Offshore Engineering to Provide Tailwinds
发布时间:2026-04-05 来源:华泰证券
CIMC has reported 2025 revenue of RMB156.61bn (-11.85% YoY) with the attributable net profit at RMB221mn (-92.57% YoY). For 4Q25, revenue stood at RMB39.55bn (-18.78% YoY/-3.47% QoQ), and the attributable net profit was -RMB1.35bn (-217.52% YoY/-567.82% QoQ). The 2025 attributable net profit missed our prior forecast of RMB3.02bn, primarily due to one-off items including FX losses and associate transaction impairments. That said, we expect the offshore engineering business to benefit from growing deepwater oil & gas development demand, and modular AIDC operations to become a second earnings growth driver. Maintain BUY on CIMC’s A/H shares.
Gross margin edged down in 2025
Gross margin dipped slightly by 0.07pp YoY to 12.45% in 2025, mainly due to declining profitability in standard dry containers within the container business segment amid intensified competition and currency impacts, though this was effectively offset by improved profitability in energy-related businesses. The operating expense ratio was 8.84% in 2025, up 1.16pp YoY. Specifically, the sales expense ratio stood at 1.73% (+0.25pp YoY), administrative expense ratio at 4.04% (+0.12pp YoY), R&D expense ratio at 1.78% (+0.26pp YoY), and financial expense ratio at 1.30% (+0.53pp YoY). The increase in operating expense ratio was primarily driven by increased FX losses leading to elevated financial costs.
Offshore engineering profitability improved
The offshore engineering segment delivered improved profitability in 2025, with revenue reaching RMB17.94bn (+8.35% YoY), gross margin expanding 5.72pp YoY to 14.83%, and net profit up 371.79% YoY to RMB1.06bn. As deepwater oil & gas development gains economic advantages amid rising energy security concerns, the offshore equipment market is poised for an upcycle, in our view. The company maintains robust order backlog, with USD5.09bn in cumulative orders as of end-2025 (oil & gas/special vessels at ~7:3 ratio). The gradual delivery of high-value oil & gas orders coupled with optimized construction efficiency should drive sustained earnings growth for this segment, in our view.
New drilling rig leases secured with earnings upside potential
In 2025, both semi-submersible and jack-up rigs achieved YoY higher average day rates, with multiple rigs successfully securing contract renewals. We expect the newly leased Blue Whale 1 and Blue Gretha platforms in 2026 to deliver substantial earnings growth upside. Looking ahead, we believe that intensifying deepwater exploration activities in West Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America should drive drilling rig demand recovery. We like the company’s efforts to continue exploring asset disposal and leasing opportunities to optimize capital efficiency, enhance operational performance, and reduce financial costs.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
Considering the operational improvement in offshore engineering and progress in modular AIDC business, we raise our 2026/2027 attributable net profit forecasts by 11/24% to RMB4,018/4,997mn (previous: RMB3,630/4,038mn), and introduce our 2028 estimate at RMB5,793mn, with EPS of RMB0.75/0.93/1.07. Peer companies’ 2026E iFind consensus PE averages 19x. Given the high-growth potential of the company’s modular data center operations, we assign a 22x 2026E PE for A-shares (vs. prior 16x), deriving an A-share target price of RMB16.50 (previous: RMB10.72 on 16x 2026E PE). Based on the 80% average H/A-share valuation discount over the past month, we apply an 18x 2026E PE for H-shares with HKD/RMB at 0.88, yielding an H-share target of HKD15.34 (previous: HKD10.87 at 15x 2026E PE).
Risks: exchange rate volatility; trade policy fluctuations; oil price volatility.