2026 marks the initial year of the full-scale implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, during which policy expectations for the hydrogen energy sector have become increasingly defined, and a systematic development framework is progressively being established. The industry is gradually shifting from demonstration and validation toward scaled applications, yet the growing pains of this transition remain ever-present. Companies are facing heavier phased investments and suppressed short-term profitability, challenges that most hydrogen energy enterprises find hard to avoid during this period. GUOFUHEE (02582) has delivered an interim report card that merits careful examination amid this landscape. During the reporting period, the company achieved total revenue of approximately RMB 104 million, essentially flat compared with the same period last year—a commendable result given the dual pressures of ongoing industry restructuring and its own strategic transformation. More significantly, the structural shifts behind the top-line figures deserve closer attention. In the first half of the year, revenue from GUOFUHEE's water electrolysis hydrogen production segment surged more than 15-fold year-on-year to roughly RMB 60.77 million, with its contribution to total revenue leaping from 3.4% in the prior-year period to 58.4%. This marks a fundamental transformation in the company’s revenue pillars, as water electrolysis hydrogen production has formally assumed the role of core business. From the perspective of market observers, the message conveyed by GUOFUHEE's interim results extends well beyond short-term financial changes at a leading hydrogen energy supply chain company—it underscores a qualitative shift in the group's medium-to-long-term growth narrative.

Decoding GUOFUHEE's new growth logic through revenue mix transformation

Retail investors tend to rely heavily on the most intuitive metrics—revenue and profit—when assessing corporate financial statements. However, in certain stages of development, these two indicators may not paint a complete picture, especially during periods of strategic transition, when heavier R&D spending, product mix adjustments, and market expansion can all distort near-term profitability. In such contexts, structural data hidden beneath the income statement often provides a truer gauge of a company's actual quality and strategic direction. Regarding GUOFUHEE's recently disclosed first-half 2026 performance, the structural changes are far more instructive than aggregate indicators like revenue or earnings. The company's interim report shows that, with overall revenue maintaining stability, water electrolysis hydrogen production revenue climbed to RMB 60.77 million, accounting for nearly 60% of total sales, signaling that this business line has entered a phase of substantive returns. Concurrently, the company's strategically prioritized liquid hydrogen initiatives have achieved phased breakthroughs, with liquid hydrogen storage, transportation, and cryogenic equipment advancing from research and development into commercial deployment. Market-based applications for liquid hydrogen storage, transport, and refueling equipment have made positive progress, the nation's first domestically developed 10-ton-per-day hydrogen liquefaction system has reached conditions for scaled production, and demonstration projects for cross-regional liquid hydrogen transport are steadily advancing. In a complementary development, revenue from GUOFUHEE's hydrogen refueling station equipment and related products also posted substantial growth, rising 55.2% year-on-year to RMB 21.71 million during the period. While sharpening its focus on high-value applications such as liquid hydrogen and cryogenic equipment, GUOFUHEE also proactively scaled back its vehicle-mounted high-pressure hydrogen supply systems and related products. Thanks to this continuous optimization of its product portfolio, first-half gross profit soared 161.5% year-on-year to RMB 2.48 million, with the corresponding gross margin improving from 0.9% in the prior-year period to 2.4%—a shift driven primarily by the robust profitability of its large-capacity water electrolysis equipment. To bolster this rapidly expanding water electrolysis business, the company has intensified R&D investment, with research spending jumping 46.6% year-on-year to RMB 24.6 million. Owing to this substantially increased R&D expenditure, together with impacts from foreign exchange losses, tax factors, and other one-off or non-recurring items, net profit metrics remain under pressure during the period. Nevertheless, given that aggressive R&D investment is a necessary cost during innovation-driven and transformation-oriented periods, these expenditures are expected to convert into stronger long-term growth momentum once the current build-out phase concludes. From a balance-sheet perspective, as of June 30, GUOFUHEE's debt-to-asset ratio has further improved to 57.9% from 59.2% at the start of the year, reflecting continued optimization of its capital structure. In other words, while increasing R&D outlays and accelerating its business transition, the company has maintained sound financial discipline and resilience. Taken as a whole, the profit pressure reflects a deliberate strategic choice to trade short-term costs for long-term growth—not a deterioration in operational quality.

Robust order book positions the company for strong growth under policy tailwinds

Following the strategic build-up phase in the first half, multiple growth drivers are now converging at GUOFUHEE, and expectations for the second half are quite encouraging. First, policy benefits are accelerating. The 15th Five-Year Plan designates hydrogen energy as a "future industry" meriting forward deployment, explicitly calling for improved equipment standards for renewable-based hydrogen production and accelerated breakthroughs in scaled hydrogen storage and transport technologies. In March, three government ministries jointly issued a notice on comprehensive hydrogen energy application pilot programs, setting targets such as reducing end-user hydrogen prices to below RMB 25 per kilogram by 2030 and striving for a fuel-cell vehicle fleet of up to 100,000 units. According to forecasts from the China Hydrogen Alliance and other institutions, green hydrogen is projected to account for over 30% of the country's hydrogen supply by 2030, with the industry's total value chain potentially surpassing RMB 1 trillion. At the international level, the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has officially entered its collection phase, further reinforcing the urgency of green hydrogen substitution amid tightening global carbon constraints. As one of the few integrated leaders equipped with full-chain capabilities spanning production, storage, transportation, refueling, and application, GUOFUHEE holds a distinct positioning advantage under the combined pull of domestic policy and international carbon regulations. Beyond the favorable external environment shaped by policy direction, the company's internal momentum is equally robust, with a full order book providing the firmest support for future revenue growth. As of early May, orders on hand had reached RMB 560 million, far exceeding total 2025 revenue, and the full-year order target stands at RMB 1 billion. On the domestic front, the RMB 21.27 million PEM hydrogen production demonstration project with Shandong High-Speed Group represents the first comprehensive "zero-carbon service area + PEM hydrogen production + energy storage" initiative in a highway context; the RMB 150 million new-energy-coupled green power project with Jiu Jiang Electric Power will see GUOFUHEE supply complete equipment packages; and the RMB 32.05 million five-station hydrogen refueling project with Guangdong Yuntuo is progressing steadily. Overseas, the USD 5.1 million electrolyzer assembly kit order from Advait in India has entered the delivery phase, with the local assembly plant having produced its first 5MW electrolyzer in March and targeting annual deliveries of no less than 300MW to India; a USD 6.2 million 20MW hydrogen production system project in Morocco is also advancing in an orderly manner. These orders span multiple segments—production equipment and refueling station construction, among others—and are expected to be progressively reflected in GUOFUHEE's financial statements. Breakthroughs in emerging application scenarios are equally noteworthy. In the field of green power solutions for data centers, GUOFUHEE signed an agreement in May with Thailand's CP Energy and associate Hydro Data to undertake a 3MW pilot project in Rayong, Thailand, which forms part of a local comprehensive energy system for a 100MW data center. A 10MW data center power generation demonstration project in North America is also advancing steadily; if the demonstration proves successful, power supply for data centers could become another significant growth pillar following water electrolysis hydrogen production. In summary, the catalysts for GUOFUHEE's second-half performance are already evident. With water electrolysis hydrogen production now formally established as the new growth engine, the combination of expanding policy dividends, concentrated order deliveries, and accelerating deployment of new application scenarios is expected to power a marked acceleration in results for the latter part of the year. As the inflection point for hydrogen energy commercialization draws nearer, this hydrogen leader—equipped with full-chain capabilities, global vision, and a well-stocked order book—is poised to transition from "expectation" to "realization" in the near term.