Service revenue growth slowed from a strong Q4 but profit trends improved, and EPS growth was better. Not disclosed but cash flow should be strongly higher on these figures given declining capex. Given EPS drives the dividend this seems positive to us, and we remain Buyers.
Chinese Telcos saw service revenue return to mid-single digits growth in 4Q24. Despite a blip in EBITDA trend, the industry ended 2024 with 6% earnings growth which translated to higher dividend payouts (CM: 73%, CT: 72%, CU: 60%).
China Tower saw Q4 revenue and EBITDA ahead of consensus by 0.9% and 4.8% respectively, led by strong momentum in Two Wings and good cost control. As margins have started to stabilise and earnings up 10% in 2024, the company announced an 11% increase in dividends which implies a 76% payout, in-line with its guidance. As depreciation is set to fall this year, we expect earnings to grow rapidly which should be supportive of the ongoing shareholder remuneration policy. At 3.5x FY25 EV/EBITDA, China...
In a separate note published last week we introduced the NSR GEM-Top 8. However, many of the stocks in that list are not liquid and so, given the tailwinds we now see in the Telco industry we introduce a second list – the GEM Telco & Towers Liquid Compounders; large cap, well-managed telcos in attractive markets at cheap valuations that are likely to generate market-beating returns over time. These are the best large cap investments in the Global EM Telco & Towers space we think.
Service revenue trend kept steady relative to Q2, albeit being slower than before due to macro headwinds. Yet earnings momentum continued to trend in the mid-single digits overall as we saw good cost control by China Telecom again (acceleration in EBITDA) while peers were cushioned by lower D&A costs (back by easing capex).
Revenue and EBITDA trends improved again for China Tower, which alongside stable depreciation supported bottom-line momentum. In Indonesia, MTEL and TOWR continued to perform where the latter benefited from faster growth in its Fibre business thus should act as a buffer should the XL and Smartfren deal were to proceed.
Despite the slowdown in service revenue trend from softer macro, Chinese operators still delivered a strong earnings growth. Interim dividends rose by 7-22% YoY as all three raised payout ratios. Despite the share prices already roughly doubling, we remain bullish on exposure to China’s structural enterprise theme, improving capital intensity and improved shareholder remuneration.
Both revenue and EBITDA trends improved, with KPIs looking healthy and Core Tower reverting to growth again. As depreciation costs continue to slow, earnings have been growing rapidly, up 10% YoY in the first half. China Tower has also announced its first interim dividends (RMB 0.0109/share) and guided for full year’s dividends to be no less than 75% payout.
EM Telcos top line growth slowed somewhat in Q1 driven by price increases in India lapping. However, other markets stayed strong and simple average revenue growth was 9%. Our thesis remains that EM telcos are set to grow sustainably at GDP+ rates.
Chinese telcos reported high-single digit service revenue growth again, driven by Enterprise and a better mobile performance. However, EBITDA growth and margin saw some pressure, attributed to higher personnel, marketing costs and Enterprise-related technical costs.
Over the last year we have become increasingly bullish on the top line outlook for EM Telcos and in particular on their Enterprise segment, as we believe Enterprise revenues for EM Telcos are set to exceed expectations based on our view that Enterprise penetration is following an S-curve.
In a separate note published today we analyse the Data Centre opportunity for EM Telcos globally which shows that the best value opportunity for those that can invest is probably in China. The 3 Chinese Telcos are each among the top 6 providers of co-location DC capacity globally, and generate 3-9% of group revenues from IDC.
We have written numerous notes now on our view that EM Telcos are in a bull market. And in a bull market it is likely that the best performers will double. In this note, we pick out the 9 EM Telcos we think are most likely to do that on a 2-3 year time horizon. Investors who focus on these stocks we think are likely to generate outsized returns well ahead of the broader market.
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