2025 Dividend Yield Reached 5.7% Amid Rising Payout Ratio
发布时间:2026-05-07 来源:华泰证券
Zheneng Electric Power (ZEP) reported 2025 revenue of RMB79.55bn (down 9.61% YoY, restated) and attributable NP of RMB7.53bn (down 2.99% YoY, restated), exceeding our estimate of RMB7.17bn, mainly due to lower-than-we-expected minority interest losses from Jolywood (which was consolidated despite ZEP holding only a 9.75% stake). In 4Q25, revenue reached RMB20.74bn (down 4.48% YoY), while attributable NP rose 21.94% YoY to RMB1,298mn. For 1Q26, revenue declined 11.02% YoY to RMB15.66bn, and attributable NP fell 11.84% YoY to RMB947mn, landing at the upper end of our forecast range of RMB705-1,047mn in our preview report. The company declared a 2025 DPS of RMB0.33 (tax-inclusive), up RMB0.04 YoY, with a payout ratio of 58.78% (+8.63pp YoY), translating to an attractive dividend yield of 5.71%. Given the enhanced dividend commitment and appealing yield, we maintain BUY.
2025/1Q26 thermal units’ NP/kWh at c. RMB0.032/0.005
Although the 2025 annual long-term contract tariff in Zhejiang Province fell significantly by RMB0.053/kWh (tax-inclusive) YoY, we estimate the combined attributable NP of ZEP's consolidated and associated thermal power plants in 2025 fell approximately RMB5.71bn, down only 4.35% YoY, with attributable NP from consolidated thermal power even increasing 3.79% YoY to around RMB3.94bn, mainly benefiting from lower coal prices and the impressive coal cost control capabilities of ZEP's coastal power plants. In 2025/1Q26, the company's on-grid thermal power output reached 172.23/37.54bn kWh, up 4.84/3.14% YoY, primarily due to new unit commissioning. We estimate that NP/kWh for consolidated thermal power in 2025/1Q26 was RMB0.032/0.005, down RMB0.003/0.007 YoY, mainly due to significant YoY declines in Zhejiang's annual long-term contract tariffs for both 2025 and 2026, though the YoY decline in standard coal price partially offset the negative impact of tariff reductions on profits. We believe that as peak summer demand approaches, tightening S/D conditions may lead to a recovery in Zhejiang's monthly/spot power tariffs.
Investment gain: new commissioning to offset thermal profit decline
In 2025, income from associates & JVs declined 8.95% YoY to RMB3.43bn, with contribution from nuclear/gas/coal-fired power plants changing +1.77/-78/-15.02% YoY to RMB1,231/23/1,748mn, accounting for 36/1/51% of total income from associates/JVs and 16%/0.3%/23% of attributable NP. In 1Q26, income from associates & JVs fell 15.36% YoY to RMB712mn, which we attribute to temporary pressure on utilization hours and tariffs at some equity-accounted power plants, coupled with relatively limited YoY declines in standard coal prices. In March 2026, Unit 1 of the San'ao nuclear power plant (in which ZEP holds a 34% stake) was connected to the grid. We believe the commissioning of San'ao nuclear units could help offset some of the YoY decline in income from thermal power investments.
Target price RMB6.67; maintain BUY
Given greater-than-we-expected YoY declines in Zhejiang's 2026 annual long-term contract tariffs, we cut our 2026-2027 average on-grid tariff forecasts by 8.04/7.69% and accordingly lower our 2026-2027 attributable NP forecasts by 18.21/14.62% to RMB5,964/6,395mn, with 2028 attributable NP projected at RMB6,642mn (EPS of RMB0.44/0.48/0.50). With the 2026E average PE for ZEP’s peers standing at 9.6x (on Wind consensus), we apply a 15.0x 2026E PE (previous: 12.5x) considering the company’s nuclear investments as earnings stabilizers and its significantly higher-than-peer-average 2025 payout ratio, arriving at a new target price of RMB6.67 (previous: RMB6.80). Maintain BUY.
Risks: Coal prices and/or on-grid tariffs below our expectations, weaker East China power demand.