报告指，中电信管理层之前的指引是EBITDA利润率将继续呈现下降趋势，但下降速度将在未来几年放缓。然而，由于严格的支出控制，集团次季的EBITDA利润率同比上升0.6个百分点。该行认为，这应可增加投资者对下半年盈利增长的信心，相信集团在今年可继续取得强劲的盈利增长。Goldman Sachs raised the annual earnings forecast of China Telecom (00728) for 2024 to 2026 by 1.8%, 2.5%, and 1.3% respectively.
Smart Financial News app learned that Goldman Sachs released a research report stating a 'buy' rating for China Telecom (00728) and raised the annual earnings forecasts for 2024 to 2026 by 1.8%, 2.5%, and 1.3%, with the target price raised slightly from 5.3 Hong Kong dollars to 5.4 Hong Kong dollars.
China Telecom's average monthly per user revenue (ARPU) and profit margin remained stable in the first half of the year, becoming a highlight of the telecommunications industry's performance. The group's mobile ARPU increased slightly by 0.2% year-on-year in the first half, while its peers declined by 1 to 3%. The bank believes that the group's second quarter performance should help alleviate investors' concerns about its slowing revenue and deteriorating profitability.
The report pointed out that the previous guidance from China Telecom's management was that the EBITDA margin would continue to decline, but the rate of decline would slow down in the coming years. However, due to strict expenditure control, the Group's EBITDA margin in the second quarter increased by 0.6 percentage points year-on-year. The bank believes that this should increase investors' confidence in profit growth in the second half of the year, and expects the Group to continue to achieve strong profit growth this year.
