Volume and Price for Natural Uranium Rose in 1H26
发布时间:2026-09-06 来源:华泰证券
China National Uranium (CNUC) has released its 1H26 results. For 1H26, revenue was RMB10,583mn (+10.80% YoY) and attributable NP was RMB987mn (+29.08% YoY). In 2Q26, revenue was RMB7,018mn (+11.94% YoY, +96.87% QoQ), and attributable NP was RMB773mn (+23.77% YoY, +261.22% QoQ). The earnings growth was fueled by higher natural uranium sales prices and volumes, as well as the ramp-up of the radioactive associated mineral business. We believe that CNUC, as the national team and key force ensuring China's natural uranium supply security, is well positioned to fully benefit from the uranium price upcycle. Meanwhile, its "organic growth + external expansion" strategy ensures continuous natural uranium capacity expansion to support China's incremental nuclear power demand. With the radioactive associated mineral business established as a second growth curve, the company's growth prospect is clear and long-term value is prominent. Maintain BUY.
Industry leader riding the uranium price upcycle
As the national team and key force for China's natural uranium supply security, the company is fully benefiting from the industry's high prosperity. In 1H26, combined revenue from self-produced and purchased natural uranium businesses increased by 14.50% YoY, with gross margin up 1.77pp YoY to 23.06%, due to higher natural uranium sales prices and volumes. Among this, purchased uranium revenue was RMB6,464mn (+24.99% YoY) in 1H26, with gross margin up 2.45pp YoY to 18.78%. Self-produced natural uranium revenue was RMB1,831mn in 1H26 (-11.68% YoY), with gross margin down 1.56pp YoY to 38.15%. We believe the decline in self-produced uranium scale and margin was due to non-seasonal changes in downstream customer mix and delivery schedules.
Second growth curve taking shape
With the commissioning and trial operation of IPO-funded projects such as the Jiangxi Ganzhou project, the company's rare earth chloride production capacity has been released. In 1H26, revenue from rare earth chlorides and related by-products surged by 96.06% YoY to RMB854mn. CNUC continues to implement its diversified strategy in the associated mineral business. In July 2026, its subsidiary CNNC Resources cooperated with China Southern Rare Earth Group to jointly invest in two monazite smelting enterprises, further improving the diversified layout.
Earnings forecast and valuation
CNUC's "uranium-focused" business benefits from the industry upcycle with robust earnings growth, while domestic and overseas capacity expansion ensures long-term growth. We maintain our 2026/2027/2028 attributable NP forecasts at RMB2,207/3,412/4,489mn (3Y CAGR of 39.73%), corresponding to EPS of RMB1.07/1.65/2.17. We select North American uranium leader Cameco as the comparable company given its similar liquidity, strategic positioning, and asset scale. Based on the Bloomberg consensus 2027E PE of 56.68x for Cameco (previous: 59.67x 2027E PE), we assign CNUC a 2027E PE valuation of 56.68x and cut our target price to RMB93.52 (previous: RMB98.45 based on 59.67x 2027E PE).
Risks: Nuclear power plant accidents, overseas geopolitical risks.