[ET Net News Agency, 17 September 2019] CICC Research lifted its target price for China
Shenhua Energy (01088) by 32% to HK$25 and upgraded its rating to "outperform".
Given strict environmental regulations, a marginal decline in coal imports and
recovering demand, the research house expects 4Q coal prices to rise in peak season. In
the mid-term, CICC is more optimistic about coal prices than the market as coal is the
mainstay energy in China, and deleveraging and reinvestment in the coal industry are still
on-going.
It said Shenhua's net cash may exceed Rmb200bn in 3 years, with the dividend payout
ratio of 40%. The huge amount of cash should weigh on ROE. An increased dividend payout
ratio is one of the effective means to enhance Shenhua's capital efficiency without
large-scale capex plans. (KL)