[ET Net News Agency, 23 March 2021] Credit Suisse cut its target price for Sinopec
Engineering Group (SEG) (02386) to HK$4.1 from HK$4.5 and downgraded its rating to
"neutral" from "outperform" to reflect a weaker outlook.
The research house said SEG's FY2020 net profit of Rmb2.4bn (+9%) was in line with
Credit Suisse's estimate. But dividend was a negative surprise, as SEG cut its payout
ratio to 56% (FY2019: 65%), the lowest level since it moved away from the 40% payout
between 2013-16.
SEG budgeted for Rmb60bn new orders for FY2021 (-6%), an indication that order momentum
is peaking out. Credit Suisse noted that SEG's cash flow generation is healthy, but it
does not translate into higher dividend payments as the market expects. (KL)