Fornet Energy: Net profit surpasses 1 billion yuan for the first time, evolving from a city gas giant to a leader in green hydrogen-based energy

Why can SOFC technology become a key energy infrastructure in the AI era?

Source: Times Finance Author: Tang Luo

2025 is a year of profound reshaping of the global energy landscape. Against the complex backdrop of intensified fluctuations in the international energy market, AI computing power triggering a hunger for electricity, and the global energy transition entering deep waters, an energy company from Guangdong has delivered a highly valuable report.

On March 24, Budran Energy (002911.SZ) released its annual report for 2025, showing that the company has continued its steady growth trend since its listing, with total operating revenue reaching 33.595 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.35%. The net profit attributable to the parent company has surpassed 1 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 1.030 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.74%.

In an era where traditional energy and emerging sectors intersect, Budran Energy is strategically positioning itself as a leading international energy service provider through its “Energy + Technology + X” strategy.

Stable performance with net profit reaching a new high

In 2025, the macro environment is complex and changeable, and the domestic energy industry is accelerating its reconstruction under the “dual carbon” goals. Budran Energy’s performance curve shows steady progress, demonstrating strong resilience.

The annual report shows that Budran Energy achieved total operating revenue of 33.595 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 6.35%. Since its listing, the company’s performance has maintained stable growth, with operating revenue increasing from 4.292 billion yuan in 2017 to 33.595 billion yuan in 2025, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 29.33%.

Data source: Tonghuashun iFIND

Regarding net profit attributable to the parent company, the company exceeded 1.030 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.74%, creating a new high since its listing. After deducting non-recurring gains and losses, the net profit attributable to the parent company is 979 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.17%. This reflects the company’s strong profitability and robust operational resilience.

Data source: Tonghuashun iFIND

Notably, during the reporting period, Budran Energy’s operating net cash flow reached 1.898 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.18%, with a net cash ratio (operating cash flow/net profit attributable to the parent company) exceeding 180%, which is particularly outstanding in the utility sector dominated by asset-heavy energy companies. Strong cash flow provides Budran Energy with robust “blood-making” capacity for business structure optimization and transformation.

The report also indicates that Budran Energy’s total assets steadily increased to 20.049 billion yuan, growing 3.31% compared to the beginning of the period, with net assets of 9.069 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.79%. In 2025, the company’s basic earnings per share and diluted earnings per share were 0.72 yuan/share and 0.71 yuan/share, respectively, with the net asset per share attributable to ordinary shareholders of 6.99 yuan/share, and a weighted return on net assets of 19%, a year-on-year increase of 1.81%.

Data source: Tonghuashun iFIND

In the secondary market, according to Wind data as of the close on March 24, Budran Energy’s total market value was 18.801 billion yuan, ranking among the top five in the A-share environmental protection and public utility Wind gas sector. Since 2025, the company’s market value has increased by nearly 20%. In terms of stock price, starting from the opening price of 11.78 yuan/share on the first trading day of 2025, the increase as of the close on March 24 reached 22.92%, demonstrating strong market performance and growth potential.

Stable shareholder returns are another reflection of the company’s value. Since its listing in 2017, the company has distributed a total cash dividend of 3.763 billion yuan, which is 4.82 times the total amount raised, with an average annual cash dividend accounting for over 65% of net profit attributable to the parent company, providing good returns to shareholders. For the 2025 fiscal year, the total cash dividend reached 675 million yuan, accounting for 65.53% of net profit attributable to the parent company. The interim dividend (for the first three quarters) distributed 2.5 yuan in cash dividends for every 10 shares, totaling 325 million yuan; the annual profit distribution distributed 2.7 yuan in cash dividends for every 10 shares, totaling 351 million yuan.

Data source: Tonghuashun iFIND

In addition, the company disclosed the “Shareholder Return Plan for the Next Three Years,” committing to annual cash dividends of no less than 65% of net profit attributable to the parent company, with the possibility of two profit distributions each year under relevant conditions. In the current environment of increased volatility in capital markets, such high certainty returns undoubtedly show the greatest sincerity to value investors.

Grasping the pulse of the green low-carbon transition era

In the past year, Budran Energy has focused on the strategic development direction of “Energy + Technology + X,” while deeply cultivating its urban gas business, continuously advancing its energy transition strategy. It has formed five major business segments: urban gas, new energy, technology, energy chemicals and services, and extension businesses, further clarifying the positioning and collaborative paths of each segment to promote integrated development and quality improvement.

Currently, with intensified geopolitical conflicts, the shipping obstruction risks in the Strait of Hormuz have once again put the global LNG supply chain on high alert. The warfare in the Middle East has caused a surge in gas and electricity prices in Europe and the United States, making energy self-sufficiency and supply security a focal point for various countries.

As a regional gas leader with 13 regional pipeline gas franchise rights, Budran Energy’s urban gas business segment achieved revenue of 13.205 billion yuan, accounting for 39.31% of the company’s total revenue, with a gross profit margin of 12.18%, a year-on-year increase of 2.93 percentage points. Relying on the barriers of franchise rights and regional cultivation advantages, the profitability resilience of the urban gas business continues to enhance, providing solid support for overall performance. The total natural gas supply reached 4.756 billion cubic meters in 2025, with gas volume increasing over 200% since its listing, ensuring stability in residential and industrial energy consumption while safeguarding regional energy security during significant fluctuations in international gas prices.

In the new energy business segment, the company is actively laying out hydrogen energy, photovoltaics, energy storage, and green methanol clean energy, embracing green transformation. The green methanol project has become an important engine for strategic transformation. Budran Energy plans to invest 10 billion yuan to establish green methanol production bases nationwide, aiming for a combined capacity of 1 million tons/year for green fuel and chemical supply. During the reporting period, the subsidiary, Fuli Kosi Green Energy Co., Ltd., jointly established the VENEX company with Hong Kong China Gas, and its subsidiary acquired 100% equity of Inner Mongolia Yigao Company. Currently, this base has achieved a production capacity of 50,000 tons of green methanol with mass sales, and future investments will continue to increase capacity to 300,000 tons; at the same time, the company intends to invest in the construction of a 200,000 tons/year green methanol project in Foshan Sanshui. So far, the industrial land has completed the land transfer, and the land transfer contract has been signed and payment made, with the construction period expected to last two years.

Green methanol, known as “liquid sunshine,” can be used directly as fuel for ships and vehicles, and it is also an efficient carrier of hydrogen energy. In the “14th Five-Year Plan,” green methanol has been given an important mission as a key area of clean energy and low-carbon chemicals. Currently, due to the energy crisis, Europe and the United States are accelerating energy independence, and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is imposing increasingly strict requirements on ship carbon emissions, creating a significant demand gap for green methanol. Budran Energy’s layout in green methanol is not only a forward-looking commercial positioning but also a precise grasp of the global trend of green fuel substitution.

In terms of energy chemical services, Budran Energy has established a domestic and international dual-driven energy service network. In the face of intensified fluctuations in the international energy market and increased uncertainty in supply chains, the company provides multi-level, personalized energy chemical services to central state-owned enterprises, terminal gas stations, and other clients. Domestically, leveraging the 918,300 cubic meters petrochemical storage base on Xiaohu Island in Nansha, Guangzhou, and the largest specialized petrochemical terminal in the Pearl River Delta, the company operates a range of products including natural gas, refined oil, methanol, and biodiesel. During the reporting period, the sales volume of equivalent oil products and chemicals reached 2.4141 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 25.82%.

Internationally, the company has established a trading platform in Singapore, actively expanding international LNG trade based in the Asia-Pacific market, further strengthening its global resource allocation capabilities and enhancing its risk hedging ability across market cycles. Moreover, in a time when energy security is increasingly becoming a strategic focus for various countries, this has injected resilient momentum into the company’s medium- and long-term development.

Hardcore technology forging “Chinese core” in energy equipment

In the technology research and development and equipment manufacturing segment, Budran Energy’s layout is even more robust. Budran Energy adheres to the industry’s innovation-driven development orientation, continuously deepening research and development, focusing on building an innovation platform that empowers industrial upgrading, and steadily solidifying its core competitiveness. From 2023 to 2025, research and development expenses were 337 million yuan, 315 million yuan, and 342 million yuan, respectively, totaling 994 million yuan over three years.

In 2025, the power crisis brought on by the explosion of AI computing power has become a hot topic in the tech community. The data center’s demand for 24/7 uninterrupted, highly reliable, low-carbon electricity has brought SOFC technology from the laboratory into the spotlight. American company Bloom Energy has secured billions of dollars in data center orders with SOFC technology, causing a stir in the global market.

SOFC is an efficient power generation device that directly converts the chemical energy of fuels (like natural gas) into electrical energy through electrochemical reactions without combustion. SOFC technology can achieve an efficiency of over 60%, and the highest combined heat and power efficiency record exceeds 90%. It can also directly utilize existing natural gas pipelines, eliminating dependence on the power grid.

If green methanol addresses the future of fuel, then SOFC (Solid Oxide Fuel Cell) is a strategic move by Budran Energy in the energy terminal application field.

The annual report reveals that Budran Energy has transitioned from research and development to demonstration in the field of SOFC. The company has completed the assembly of SOFC system prototypes and achieved continuous operation, and it is currently optimizing and iterating the technology; a 300 kW SOFC system project demonstration is being conducted at the Nanzhuang natural gas high-pressure station. This means Budran Energy not only masters this core technology known as the “AI computing heart” but has also begun exploring its commercialization path, laying a solid foundation for future participation in data center energy supply and distributed energy markets.

In addition to SOFC, Budran Energy is also conducting cutting-edge technology research and promoting the transformation of research results in hydrogen energy equipment manufacturing, pipeline detection, kiln thermal equipment manufacturing, energy conservation and emission reduction, and ultrasonic gas meters. In July 2025, the company’s subsidiary, Foshan Wisdom Energy Technology Co., Ltd., independently developed a household ultrasonic gas meter, which made its global debut at the 29th World Gas Conference. This product achieved 100% localization, breaking the adverse situation of the domestic ultrasonic gas meter being “chip-deficient and soul-lacking,” severely reliant on imports.

Looking back as we stand on the threshold of the “14th Five-Year Plan,” in the context of the restructuring of the global energy order and the AI technology revolution giving rise to new demands, Budran Energy is entering the hydrogen-based energy new blue ocean with green methanol, positioning itself in the energy infrastructure of the AI era with SOFC, and achieving domestication of equipment through core technology. This balance of “stability” and “progress” is a vivid practice of new productive forces at the enterprise level and a solid footprint of Budran Energy’s commitment to becoming an excellent international energy service provider. This is not just a vision, but a vivid portrayal of creating new opportunities amid change and expanding new paths through innovation.