Macquarie raised the forecast of CNOOC’s earnings growth, citing continued optimistic trends in long-term oil prices and foreign exchange factors, despite the short-term oil price volatility.
The broker raised the forecast of CNOOC’s earnings per share in 2023/24/25 by 12.3%, 3.3% and 0.4% respectively.
Macquarie expected CNOOC’s net profit in the second quarter to be flat quarter on quarter due to strong growth in oil and gas sales, offsetting the impact of weaker oil prices in the quarter. For the first half of 2023, net profit is expected to drop 11% year over year to 64 billion yuan.
New projects in China are expected to boost the company’s long-term output. Macquarie raised the target price of CNOOC’s H-shares by 6% to HK$11 and rated it Neutral. CNOOC’s shares are trading 2% down at HK$12.46.