Optimizing Structure to Strengthen Earnings Quality
发布时间:2026-08-27 来源:华泰证券
Foran Energy has released its 1H26 results: revenue was RMB13,070mn (-14.78% YoY); attributable net profit was RMB330mn (+6.57% YoY), broadly in line with the profit alert (RMB329.7mn); and recurring net profit was RMB361mn (+17.83% YoY), above the alert (RMB307mn), as the interim report reclassified a RMB49mn fair value loss on derivative financial instruments to non-recurring items. In 2Q26, revenue was RMB7,317mn (-16.73% YoY, +27.17% QoQ), and attributable net profit was RMB247mn (+8.14% YoY, +198.67% QoQ). The company scaled back its low-margin oil and chemical products business, while gross margin improved YoY and net OCF strengthened. We like this transformation progress and Foran’s improving earnings quality under its "Energy, Technology, plus X" strategy. Maintain OVERWEIGHT.
City gas: Margin uptrend continues
In 1H26, the city gas segment generated revenue of RMB5,754mn (-12.5% YoY), with natural gas supply volume of 2,067mn cbm (-3.0% YoY). By customer mix, industrial, commercial, and trading users accounted for 77.8%, power plants 10.5%, and residential users 6.0%. The share of transmission volumes on behalf of other parties rose to 5.8% (vs 1.3% in 1H25). Lower gas procurement costs and improved cost pass-through mechanisms lifted city gas gross margin by 2.24pp YoY to 12.36% in 1H26, well above the historical average of around 9.2% for 2022-2024. Foran’s gas volume mix is dominated by industrial & commercial (I&C) customers with strong cost pass-through ability. Through deeper penetration of existing markets, customer mix optimization, and refined cost control, the earnings stability of the core city gas business continues to be validated.
Maintain our earnings forecasts and target price
We maintain our 2026/2027/2028 attributable net profit forecasts at RMB1,135/ 1,248/1,385mn (three-year CAGR of 10.36%), implying EPS of RMB0.87/0.96/ 1.07. The company's diversified energy initiatives are paying off, energy materials services are generating earnings upside, and the green methanol business offers long-term earnings growth potential. Based on Wind consensus estimates, comparable companies trade at an average 2026E PE of 12x. Considering Foran’s 2026E dividend yield of 5.35% (as of the 21 August market close) is above the comparable average of 3.70% (Wind), and its dividend yield premium has widened since our previous report (company 4.0% vs comparable 3.3%), we maintain our 2026E PE of 19x and target price of RMB16.53.
Risks: sharp increases in gas procurement costs, slower recovery in domestic gas demand than we expect, slower progress in new businesses such as energy chemicals and green energy than we expect, and policy changes in gas pricing and industry regulation.