Entering a Cycle of Traffic and Profit Growth
发布时间:2026-09-06 来源:华泰证券
Baiyun Airport's 1H26 revenue/attributable net profit (NP) were RMB4,060/427mn (+9.0/-43.1% YoY), with the recurring attributable NP down by 27.2% YoY. The 2Q26 revenue/attributable NP were RMB2,083/259mn (+9.4/-43.0% YoY), with the recurring attributable NP down by 18.1% YoY. The 1H26 earnings exceeded our expectation of RMB340mn by 26%, mainly due to better-than-expected usage fees and cost increments for new capacity. Following the commissioning of Terminal 3 and the fifth runway, Baiyun Airport, as a gateway hub in the Greater Bay Area, gains momentum in capacity ramp-up with rapid traffic growth. The 1H26 passenger throughput grew by 8.2% YoY. Meanwhile, operating Phase III assets through paying asset usage fees to the parent group is likely to ease short-to-medium-term cost pressure. Maintain OVERWEIGHT.
2Q profit down by 43% YoY mainly due to new capacity costs
Although airlines were cautious with capacity deployment in 2Q26, passenger throughput still grew by 4.1% YoY to 20.79mn, with international+regional traffic growing faster at 17.0% YoY, likely benefiting from base airlines actively opening international routes, in our view. Driven by a higher proportion of international routes and fast growth in other non-aviation revenue, the 2Q26 revenue rose by 9.4% YoY to RMB2,083mn, outpacing traffic growth. However, due to the commissioning of T3 and the fifth runway, operating costs grew by 20.9% YoY, causing the 2Q26 gross margin to drop by 7.4pp YoY to 22.4%. Additionally, arbitration compensation recorded as non-operating income of RMB155mn in 2Q25 led to a 43.0% YoY decline in attributable NP to RMB259mn, and an 18.1% YoY decline in recurring NP to RMB243mn.
Capacity ramps up; 1H26 revenue increases steadily with traffic
For 1H26 overall, passenger throughput grew rapidly by 8.2% YoY to 43.33mn, of which international and regional traffic jumped by 20.3% YoY to 9.85mn, up by 2.2pp YoY to 22.7% of the total. Increased traffic and a higher proportion of international routes boosted aviation revenue by 8.4% YoY to RMB1,708mn. Non-aviation revenue grew slightly faster, up by 9.3% YoY to RMB2,352mn, while lease and concession revenue grew at a slower pace of 4.8% YoY to RMB949mn, likely due to commercial transition during T1 relocation and a lack of significant recovery in the duty-free business.
Cost pressure eases; poised to enter traffic/profit growth cycle
Cost-wise, the 1H26 operating costs grew by 20.5% YoY to RMB3,194mn, mainly impacted by the operation of T3 and the fifth runway, yielding a gross profit of RMB866mn (-19.5% YoY). However, operating Phase III assets by paying asset usage fees to the group and relocating operations from T1 are likely to reduce operating expenses such as utilities and labor, easing cost pressure. Consequently, the 1H26 recurring NP reached RMB409mn (-27.2% YoY), beating our expectations. Looking ahead, total designed annual passenger throughput reaches 120mn with the new capacity in service. In addition, establishing a duty-free joint venture with CTG Duty Free to operate T2/T3 departure duty-free businesses enhances the airport's equity interest in duty-free operations, which could drive a fast profit recovery.
Earnings forecasts and valuation
Considering better-than-expected costs in 1H26, we upgrade our 2026 attributable NP forecast by 2% to RMB889mn. Given that duty-free recovery still requires time, we downgrade our 2027/2028 attributable NP forecasts by 2/6% to RMB1,076/ 1,319mn, implying EPS of RMB0.34/0.42/0.51. Our DCF-derived target price is RMB9.20 (WACC at 8.9% vs. 9.5% previously; terminal growth rate unchanged at 2.0%; previous target price RMB10.40). Maintain OVERWEIGHT.
Risks: lower duty-free sales than we expect; weaker traffic recovery than we expect; slower peak-hour traffic slot growth than we expect; higher new capacity costs than we expect.