HK/China Equity Long-Short

Osbert Tang, CFA

Equity Bottom-Up

China Communications Construction / Equity Bottom-Up

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-communications-construction-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:265:1" rel="noopener">China Communications Construction (1800 HK)</a> (CCCC) has a very solid 1H21 with net profit growth of 88.3% YoY. While the low base in 1H20 has exaggerated the growth rate; relative to 1H19, net profit still increased 18.3%, implying a healthy operational recovery back to pre-pandemic level. The remarkable 28.5% YoY increase in new contract value also demonstrated its strong foothold in the domestic market. All in all, we believe the market should be happy with CCCC's interim result. We believe CCCC will maintain good new contract momentum for the rest of the year as supported by the acceleration of issuance of special purpose bonds by local governments. Having already achieved 58% of its full-year target, there is potential for it to beat its FY21 expectation. The current excellent backlog, which equals to 4.75x its FY20 revenue, also implies that forward earnings are well secured. At 0.2x P/B, 2.8x PER and 6.6% dividend yield for FY21, we believe CCCC is grossly undervalued.

China Communications Construction (1800 HK) (CCCC) has a very solid 1H21 with net profit growth of 88.3% YoY. While the low base in 1H20 has exaggerated the growth rate; relative to 1H19, net profit still increased 18.3%, implying a healthy operational recovery back to pre-pandemic level. The remarkable 28.5% YoY increase in new contract value also demonstrated its strong foothold in the domestic market. All in all, we believe the market should be happy with CCCC's interim result. We believe CCCC will maintain good new contract momentum for the rest of the year as supported by the acceleration of issuance of special purpose bonds by local governments. Having already achieved 58% of its full-year target, there is potential for it to beat its FY21 expectation. The current excellent backlog, which equals to 4.75x its FY20 revenue, also implies that forward earnings are well secured. At 0.2x P/B, 2.8x PER and 6.6% dividend yield for FY21, we believe CCCC is grossly undervalued. 

China Comm Const (1800 HK): A Healthy 1H21 with Full Operational Recovery

<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-communications-construction-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:265:1" rel="noopener">China Communications Construction (1800 HK)</a> has a fruitful 1H21 as reflected by impressive new contract growth and profit recovery. Driven by the strength at the domestic market, overall new contract addition reached Rmb685.1bn, a good 28.5% YoY growth. Such pace is the fastest when compared with the annual growth rate since FY15, and this solid project pipeline will translate into positive profit momentum over the next three years.CCCC has also issued positive profit alert for 1H21, guiding for between 109.70% and 139.01% YoY growth in net profit. For 2Q21 standalone, the YoY growth should reach an even higher 1.4-2.1x. We see limited regulatory risks for CCCC given the infrastructure construction industry landscape and its centrally-owned SOE status. In our view, its ROE of 6.9% for FY21F and 7.5% for FY22F highly justify a re-rating in its P/B multiple which currently stands at 0.19x on a 12-month forward basis.

China Communications Construction (1800 HK) has a fruitful 1H21 as reflected by impressive new contract growth and profit recovery. Driven by the strength at the domestic market, overall new contract addition reached Rmb685.1bn, a good 28.5% YoY growth. Such pace is the fastest when compared with the annual growth rate since FY15, and this solid project pipeline will translate into positive profit momentum over the next three years.CCCC has also issued positive profit alert for 1H21, guiding for between 109.70% and 139.01% YoY growth in net profit. For 2Q21 standalone, the YoY growth should reach an even higher 1.4-2.1x. We see limited regulatory risks for CCCC given the infrastructure construction industry landscape and its centrally-owned SOE status. In our view, its ROE of 6.9% for FY21F and 7.5% for FY22F highly justify a re-rating in its P/B multiple which currently stands at 0.19x on a 12-month forward basis. 

China Comm Const (1800 HK): Well Placed for an Upturn

Founder of Antler Capital

Stanley Tsai, CFA

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

For all the roller coaster rides the sector has taken investors on over the years, the Chinese property developers have been unsettlingly consistent in one regard. The CNY1tn fixed asset investment (FAI) homebuilders coughed up in May continued a two-decades long secular trend that may make or break China's still fragile recovery (Exhibit 1).
The Debt-Fueled Supercycle. The sector has seen its share of excesses and corrections, exemplified by the post-GFC FAI expansion and subsequent retrenchment. Covid might have driven up construction costs, but the enthusiasm of would-be homeowners has shown no signs of abating. Just as the developers are working overtime to deleverage their balance sheets, household debt is piling up and may approach alarming levels over the next five years if mortgage growth doesn't decelerate quickly enough.
The Inventory Drawdown. Behind the headline FAI number is a more nuanced picture of inventory reductions and landbank replenishment. Housing starts slowed in May and dipped below project completions on a 12-month rolling basis. This affords cash-strapped property firms an opportunity to rebuild their cashflows, while deploying cash to projects in hand.
The Insatiable Demand. The 0.5% m/m or 5% y/y rise in home prices last month may appear benign in other settings. In the context of China's already exorbitant base, recent data points are a cause for concern. Among the largest cities across the country, those in the Greater Bay Area stand out as outliers, with valuations skyrocketing in spite of the latest round of lockdowns.
The Aggressive Developers. The increasingly bullish undertones of sell-side notes that have landed on our desks are centered around the inventory drawdown / cashflow rebuild story of the perceived higher-quality names in the space. We are not buyers of that story just yet and our work suggests that many developers have been acquiring land at a more aggressive rate than they had planned at the beginning of the year. Regulators are already keeping a close eye on recent transactions and we think we should too.
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<td style="width: 746px;">Exhibit 1: Monthly Housing FAI | 3M Moving Avg (CNY bn)</td>
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Source: National Bureau of Statistics, Our analysis
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For all the roller coaster rides the sector has taken investors on over the years, the Chinese property developers have been unsettlingly consistent in one regard. The CNY1tn fixed asset investment (FAI) homebuilders coughed up in May continued a two-decades long secular trend that may make or break China's still fragile recovery (Exhibit 1).
The Debt-Fueled Supercycle. The sector has seen its share of excesses and corrections, exemplified by the post-GFC FAI expansion and subsequent retrenchment. Covid might have driven up construction costs, but the enthusiasm of would-be homeowners has shown no signs of abating. Just as the developers are working overtime to deleverage their balance sheets, household debt is piling up and may approach alarming levels over the next five years if mortgage growth doesn't decelerate quickly enough.
The Inventory Drawdown. Behind the headline FAI number is a more nuanced picture of inventory reductions and landbank replenishment. Housing starts slowed in May and dipped below project completions on a 12-month rolling basis. This affords cash-strapped property firms an opportunity to rebuild their cashflows, while deploying cash to projects in hand.
The Insatiable Demand. The 0.5% m/m or 5% y/y rise in home prices last month may appear benign in other settings. In the context of China's already exorbitant base, recent data points are a cause for concern. Among the largest cities across the country, those in the Greater Bay Area stand out as outliers, with valuations skyrocketing in spite of the latest round of lockdowns.
The Aggressive Developers. The increasingly bullish undertones of sell-side notes that have landed on our desks are centered around the inventory drawdown / cashflow rebuild story of the perceived higher-quality names in the space. We are not buyers of that story just yet and our work suggests that many developers have been acquiring land at a more aggressive rate than they had planned at the beginning of the year. Regulators are already keeping a close eye on recent transactions and we think we should too.



Exhibit 1: Monthly Housing FAI | 3M Moving Avg (CNY bn)




Source: National Bureau of Statistics, Our analysis




Related Insights


China Financials: Silver Linings Playbook 

Glut and Famine: We Might See Snow in China This Summer 

China Macro: Operation Twist | The Deposit Version 

China Macro: Consumers Remain on the Sidelines, as Their Home Equity Grows 

China Macro: PPI Peaks, while CPI Eases Tightening Fears 

China Macro: Exports Disappoint, but It's Still Early in the Game 


China Properties: Like Clockwork, Real Estate Investments Haven't Skipped a Beat

The 1Q21 result of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-communications-construction-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:265:1" rel="noopener">China Communications Construction (1800 HK)</a> (CCCC) should provide comfort to the market given it showed the sustained pace of earnings recovery. Recurring profit grew 87.5% YoY, or 13.3% versus 1Q19, driven by sharp surge in revenue and good YoY margin expansion on remarkable cost control performance.  We believe CCCC has kick-started an encouraging FY21 - its 1Q21 profit already almost equals to the 1H20 profit. Adding to that is the enchanting new contract addition momentum in the quarter - up 80.3% YoY and 24.5% QoQ, providing good security and visibility for its earnings outlook. All these evidences are supportive to our relentless call that its 12-month forward PER of 2.7x and P/B of 0.2x are just too depressed.

The 1Q21 result of China Communications Construction (1800 HK) (CCCC) should provide comfort to the market given it showed the sustained pace of earnings recovery. Recurring profit grew 87.5% YoY, or 13.3% versus 1Q19, driven by sharp surge in revenue and good YoY margin expansion on remarkable cost control performance.  We believe CCCC has kick-started an encouraging FY21 - its 1Q21 profit already almost equals to the 1H20 profit. Adding to that is the enchanting new contract addition momentum in the quarter - up 80.3% YoY and 24.5% QoQ, providing good security and visibility for its earnings outlook. All these evidences are supportive to our relentless call that its 12-month forward PER of 2.7x and P/B of 0.2x are just too depressed.

China Comm Const (1800 HK): Kick-Start a Rewarding Year

Management is generally optimistic towards FY21 outlook, with a target of 10% growth in new contract and revenue. In the post-result call, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/china-communications-construction-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:265:1" rel="noopener">China Communications Construction (1800 HK)</a> (CCCC) highlights its focus on strategy refinement, cost control and overseas expansion as some of its major initiatives. We take the management's guidance positively; and trading at outrageously cheap multiples of 3.1x PER and 0.2x P/B, we think the market is too negative towards CCCC. As for FY20 result, we do not agree that CCCC's profit is unexciting. While profit was down 17.6% YoY, there is a 98.6% HoH improvement in 2H20. Excluding factors like foreign exchange loss on Rmb appreciation and higher credit impairment (mainly on Australia project), CCCC has a flat YoY. This is even before taking into account the loss of toll revenue amounting to Rmb1.4bn in 1H20 due to the pandemic. That said, we see good room for a double-digit recovery in FY21 as some of these factors are removed.

Management is generally optimistic towards FY21 outlook, with a target of 10% growth in new contract and revenue. In the post-result call, China Communications Construction (1800 HK) (CCCC) highlights its focus on strategy refinement, cost control and overseas expansion as some of its major initiatives. We take the management's guidance positively; and trading at outrageously cheap multiples of 3.1x PER and 0.2x P/B, we think the market is too negative towards CCCC. As for FY20 result, we do not agree that CCCC's profit is unexciting. While profit was down 17.6% YoY, there is a 98.6% HoH improvement in 2H20. Excluding factors like foreign exchange loss on Rmb appreciation and higher credit impairment (mainly on Australia project), CCCC has a flat YoY. This is even before taking into account the loss of toll revenue amounting to Rmb1.4bn in 1H20 due to the pandemic. That said, we see good room for a double-digit recovery in FY21 as some of these factors are removed.

China Comm Const (1800 HK): Key Takeaways from Post-FY20 Result Call

China

China Railway Construction Corporation Limited provides transportation infrastructure construction services. The Company constructs railway, highway, urban track, and other infrastructure. China Railway Construction also provides real estate development and materials trading services.

China Railway Construction Cor (601186 CH)

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China Railway Construction Cor (601186 CH)

China Comm Const (1800 HK): A Healthy 1H21 with Full Operational Recovery

The market should welcome CCCC's 88.3% 1H21 profit growth, and we expect new contract momentum to stay strong. Its backlog covered 4.75x its FY20...

Osbert Tang, CFA

China Comm Const (1800 HK): Well Placed for an Upturn

Good new contract value momentum and positive profit alert are both encouraging to CCCC. We believe its valuations are undemandiing at just 0.19x P...

Osbert Tang, CFA

China Properties: Like Clockwork, Real Estate Investments Haven't Skipped a Beat

Housing FAI in May continued a secular trend that may make or break China's recovery. Inventory drawdowns may afford developers some breathing...

Stanley Tsai, CFA

China Comm Const (1800 HK): Kick-Start a Rewarding Year

CCCC logged a sharp earnings revival in 1Q21 on the back of a surge in revenue and solid margin expanson; and new contracts added also surged. It...

Osbert Tang, CFA

China Comm Const (1800 HK): Key Takeaways from Post-FY20 Result Call

We stay positive on CCCC after post-result call. It targets to achieve 10% growth in revenue and new contracts in FY21 and we are optimistic. At...

Osbert Tang, CFA

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