The company's 2016 performance fell short of our estimates, mainly due to exchange losses and lower gas sales than we anticipated.
The company's revenue decreased 16% year over year to HK$2.15 billion, and shareholders' net profit decreased 13% year over year to HK$172.2 million.
The company expects gas sales to increase by about 20% in 2017, and the gas transmission business will also grow significantly. Environmental pressure and energy restructuring will be the main driving force for future natural gas consumption.
We expect the company's gas price spread in 2017 to improve and remain at a stable level in 2018-2019. We expect the company's gas sales spread to remain at a stable level in 2018-2019 under the new pricing mechanism.
The company plans to connect 150,000 new residential users in 2017, an increase of 15% over 2016. The company's management expects connection revenue to increase by around 10% in 2017.
Maintain the company's target price at HK$3.54 and maintain the “buy” rating.