Profit Falls 9.9% as Revenue Slips 4.1%
CGN Power (01816.HK) announced a notable downturn in its financial performance for the 2025 fiscal year. The nuclear power operator's revenue contracted by 4.1% year-over-year to RMB 75.697 billion. This top-line weakness translated to a sharper decline in profitability, with net profit falling 9.9% to RMB 9.765 billion. Earnings per share for the period stood at RMB 0.193.
Excluding the effect of non-recurring items, the company's performance was even weaker, with adjusted net profit attributable to shareholders dropping 15.1% to approximately RMB 9.113 billion. In a direct reflection of the reduced earnings, the board declared a final dividend of RMB 0.086 per share, a decrease from the RMB 0.095 distributed in the previous year.
Stock Jumps 5.65% as Investors Price in Weaker Results
Despite the unambiguous decline in year-over-year earnings, CGN Power's stock price reacted bullishly, climbing 5.65%. This paradoxical market reaction suggests that investors and analysts had braced for a more severe downturn. The announced figures, while negative, likely surpassed the deeply pessimistic forecasts that had been priced into the stock ahead of the report.
The rally may also have been intensified by heavy short-selling activity. Data showed short selling volume reached $156.18 million, representing a high ratio of 13.179%. This suggests that some of the buying pressure could have stemmed from short-sellers closing their positions to limit losses, a phenomenon known as a short squeeze, which further propelled the stock higher as the results were not as catastrophic as they had wagered.
