Revenue Reached RMB2,150 million, up 27.6%; Attributable Profit Reached RMB348 million, up 22.8%
In a Rapid Development Phase -- Strong Contracted Sales and Encouraging Results
HONG KONG, Aug. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
| RMB'000 | For the six months ended 30 June | ||
| 2013 | 2012 | Change | |
| Revenue | 2,150,443 | 1,684,880 | +27.6% |
| Gross profit | 665,198 | 525,483 | +26.6% |
| Profit attributable to shareholders of the Company | 348,286 | 283,731 | +22.8% |
| Basic earnings per share (RMB cents) | 13.32 | 10.85 | +22.8% |
China Aoyuan Property Group Limited ("Aoyuan" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries the "Group"; Stock Code: 3883), one of the leading property developers in Guangdong Province in China, is pleased to announce its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2013.
Satisfactory results performance
During the period under review, the Group's revenue reached RMB2,150.4 million. Total gross floor area ("GFA") delivered increased to 305,643 sq. m. (1H2012: 156,900 sq. m.) at an average selling price of RMB6,848 per sq. m. Gross profit increased 26.6% to approximately RMB665.2 million, while gross profit margin remained steady at 30.9%. Profit attributable to shareholders of the Company was RMB348.3 million, up 22.8% year on year. Basic earnings per share were RMB13.32 cents (1H2012: RMB10.85 cents).
Commenting on the interim results, Mr. Guo Zi Wen, Chairman of Aoyuan, said, "During the first half of the year, the property market in China sustained a continual upward trend from the second half of last year. In particular, since May the market as a whole saw sales started to improve with persistent revivals in transaction volumes for urban residential projects and further rebounds in prices of projects in key cities. Aoyuan had been able to capitalize on the favourable market environment and achieved outstanding performances both in results and contracted sales."
Contracted sales for the first 7 months reached RMB4.42 billion, up 79.3% yoy
Riding on the favorable market conditions in the first half of the year, the Group implemented its "rapid and balanced development" in business management strategy, "developing commercial and residential properties in parallel" product strategy and "rapid development and rapid sales" development strategy. The departments and project companies adhered to a "market-oriented" sales strategy and tapped market opportunities with proactive moves to drive significant growths in sales.
In the first half of the year, the Group achieved contracted sales of RMB3.741 billion, which was 134% of the original RMB2.8 billion target and accounted for approximately 50% of the RMB7.5 billion full-year target, up 62% year on year. The contracted average sales price was approximately RMB8,026 per sq. m., up 19% year on year. For the first seven months ended 31 July 2013, Aoyuan achieved total contracted sales of approximately RMB4.42 billion, up 79.3% year on year, the total contracted GFA sold was approximately 507,000 sq. m., up 35.2% year on year, the average selling price was approximately RMB8,700 per sq.m. The 2013 major commercial and residential project of the Group, Aoyuan City Plaza had its grand launch in July, with excellent subscription sales of approximately RMB600 million, and the average selling price reached approximately RMB51,700 per sq.m. in July.
For the second half of this year, major projects of the Group include "Aoyuan City Plaza", "Aoyuan Beyond Era", "Aoyuan - Spring Garden", "Zhuzhou Aoyuan - Shennong Health City", "Zhuzhou Aoyuan Plaza", "Chongqing Aoyuan - The Metropolis", "Chongqing Aoyuan - Shunyunjian" and, "Jiangmen Aoyuan - Waitan" etc. The Group is fully confident about achieving its full-year RMB7.5 billion target, which is already 50% more than that of last year.
In respect of commercial properties, the Group and various project companies had jointly held in June, a strategic conference titled "The new commercial properties forum" announcing Aoyuan's commercial real estate strategies. More than 300 guests including experts, scholars, elites of the property industry, business representatives, investors and major media representatives attended the conference. The Group unveiled the development strategies of Aoyuan's commercial real estate business and presented the unique features of Aoyuan's commercial brand in the conference. Aoyuan Alliance, gathering a group of outstanding companies led by Aoyuan, was established in this event, providing further support for the Group's commercial brand image building and sales of commercial projects in the future.
Solid financial position
The Group maintained a healthy financial position with abundant cash flow. As at 30 June 2013, the Group's cash (including restricted bank deposits) amounted to approximately RMB3,413.0 million. Net gearing ratio was at approximately 47.1%. The strong and stable financial position of the Group assures its rapid development of high quality projects and instills resilience against impact from cyclical market changes, thereby further boosted its future business growth momentum.
Actively acquired premium commercial and residential land
Leveraging its healthy financial position, the Group actively tapped development opportunities in the land market with a focus on enlarging its business scale for the first half of the year. The Group invested heavily on project investment information channels and actively explored new development opportunities. The Group acquired four high quality commercial and residential projects with aggregate GFA of approximately 900,000 sq. m., including "Aoyuan Kangwei Plaza", "Chongqing Aoyuan - Shunyunjian", "Aoyuan - Central Parkview" and "Jiangmen Aoyuan Yicheng Plaza".
At the moment, the Group's land bank has a comprehensive coverage in the five key economic regions in China, including Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Pan Bohai Rim, Beibuwan as well as the central and western region. As at 30 June 2013, the Group's land bank amounted to 10.55 million sq. m. in total planned GFA, acquired at costs averaged only approximately RMB970 per sq. m. This level of land reserves is sufficient to support the Group's development in the coming five to seven years.
The Group still adheres to insist its investment strategies and continues to monitor closely the market situation and targets at districts or projects which are suitable for "rapid development and rapid sales", with strong end user demand and less influenced by the macro-control policy stipulated by the Central Government. The Group gives priorities to regions where it already established footholds in, including Guangdong and Chongqing. The Group strives to deepen its foothold in these markets and gradually expands footprints there, while continuing its strategy of developing commercial and residential properties in parallel.
In the second half of this year, the Group will adhere to its proactive yet prudent expansion strategy and continue to identify high quality land that can accommodate its investment strategies. In the months of July and August, the Group has been making acquisitions into three quality commercial and residential projects with aggregate more than 970,000sq.m. of GFA, located at Guangdong Yangjiang, Chongqing Chayuan and Guangzhou Luogang, for considerations aggregated approximately RMB2.5 billion.
Outlook for the second half of 2013
Looking ahead, Mr. Guo Zi Wen concluded, "Aoyuan achieved encouraging results for the first half of 2013, which has established a firm footing for the performance of the whole year. As the Central Government has already stipulated that the focus of its work on the country's economy for the second half of the year will be to 'actively boost effective demand and drive residents' consumption upgrade while steadily promote a new people-oriented urbanization model to ensure stable and healthy development of the property market', it is expected that development of the property market as a whole will be stable for the second half of the year. The Group has entered into a rapid development phase. With extensive application of its 'standardized project development model' and continuous improvement and innovation in the key areas such as product positioning, product design, marketing strategy and business operation, we look forward with you to attaining promising results from the rapid development of Aoyuan in the coming years, and share with the shareholders fruitful results."
Corporate Profile
China Aoyuan Property Group Limited, listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong under the stock code 3883, is one of the leading property developers in Guangdong Province in China. Its projects are mainly located in provinces of Guangdong, Shenyang, Chongqing, Hunan, Jiangsu, Guangxi, and Jiangxi, etc. The size of Aoyuan's land bank was 10.55 million sq. m. in GFA as of 30 June 2013. Aoyuan has been implementing a product strategy of "developing commercial and residential properties in parallel" and a development strategy of "rapid development and rapid sales". With a solid financial position and excellent project development and operation management capabilities, Aoyuan has entered into a phase of rapid development in 2013.
