FOSHAN, China, May 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Country Garden Holdings (02007.HK), a leading Chinese property development company, moved up to the 129th position in the 2019 edition of the Forbes Global 2000 list released by leading business magazine Forbes on the evening of May 16, 2019. This marked the tenth consecutive year that the Chinese property developer has made the list with the ranking on the list having improved in each of the past ten years.
Together with the Forbes Fortune 500, the two lists are the proven authorities in terms of global company rankings. The world's largest and most powerful listed companies are recognized based on four key indicators: sales, profit, total assets and market value.
Notably, 309 Chinese companies were included in the Global 2000 list, five of which made the top ten, demonstrating the outstanding achievements of China-based firms. Notably, with US$237.4 billion in total assets and US$35.2 billion in market value, Country Garden rose by 14 spots to take the 129th place in 2019, continuing the real estate firm's continuous enhancement in its ranking since the first appearance on the list in 2010, a testament to the firm's strong growth momentum.
Country Garden has once again appeared among the Fortune 500, becoming one of the companies on the list that have seen the biggest improvement in their ranking over the past few years. In addition, the real estate firm was also included in the 2019 Brand Finance Global 150 list and the BrandZ™ Top 50 Most Valuable Chinese Brands list, among other leading rankings.
According to Country Garden's financial statement for 2018, the company experienced steady growth despite the downturn in the overall Chinese real estate market and policies put in place by the Chinese government meant to put a brake on the market. Country Garden achieved 501.88. billion yuan (approx. US$72.2 billion) in contract sales last year, representing a year on year growth of 31.25 per cent. The company posted revenue of 379.08 billion yuan (approx. US$54.5 billion), up 67.1 per cent year on year. Gross profit stood at 102.48 billion yuan (approx. US$14.7 billion), up 74.3 per cent year on year, while net profit clocked in at 48.54 billion yuan (approx. US$6.9 billion), up 68.8 per cent year on year.
Besides strong sales growth and a steady rise in profitability, the company's conversion rate of contract sales to cash reached 91 per cent in 2018 with the net loan ratio dropping 7.3 percentage points year on year to 49.6 per cent. In addition, with a cash balance of some 242.54 billion yuan (approx. US$34.9 billion), the firm posted a positive net operating cash flow for the third consecutive year, reflecting its strong ability to manage risk.
A number of leading financial institutions including J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, BOC International and BNP Paribas gave Country Garden a "buy" rating in view of the company's steady growth.
China International Capital Corporation reaffirmed a "buy" rating for Country Garden based on the company's ample land reserve, strong execution competence and outstanding portfolio. The real estate firm expects to see a continued rise in both sales and profitability this year.
Since the second half of last year, Country Garden has been focusing on the enhancement of the quality of operations while steadying the pace of expansion as part of its long-term strategy to maintain operational consistency. In 2019, with real estate, modern agriculture and robotics as three core businesses, the company plans to deepen the level of the collaboration with its partners and promote business integration and transformation in a move to enhance its comprehensive competitiveness, with the aim of making greater contributions to society by creating both social and economic value.
