2019.03.14

Times Property Holdings Limited (stock code 01233.HK), on March 13, 2019, made its annual announcement of results in Hong Kong for the 2018 fiscal year. In 2018, the strategic advantages of Times China's deep development in the Guangdong-HongKong-Macao Greater Bay Area were highlighted. Several key indicators of results--including contract sales, turnover and core net profit--were particularly strong.

·2019 Annual Results Announcement of Times China

·Mr. Shum Chiu Hung, the board chairman of Times China, attends the conference

Significant Growth in Multiple Core Indicators

·Mr. Lei Weibin, the CFO and co-secretary of Times China, announced the results

In 2018, despite a slowdown in the growth of the overall industry, Times China maintained a rapid development and achieved substantial improvement in multiple core indicators, including sales and profitability.

The company enjoyed record-high sales in 2018, with contract sales of RMB 60,595 million, an increase of 45.5% over the same period in 2017. The annual target completion rate was 110.2%.

Times China's profitability continued to grow. Turnover amounted to RMB 34,375 million in 2018, up 48.7% from the same period of the previous year. The gross profit for the whole year was RMB 10,621 million, an increase of 64.7% year-on-year, while the gross margin was 30.9%, an increase of 3% from the previous year. The net profit reached RMB 4,811 million, an increase of 44.0% year-on-year, and the core net profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 4,204 million, an increase of 66.0% year-on-year. The basic earning per share was RMB 2.40, up 58.9% from RMB 1.51 for the previous year, and the dividend per share was RMB 0.6877, up 66.0% from RMB 0.4143 in 2017.

Times China remained a prudent financial standing in 2018. As at the end of 2018, the company's net debt ratio stood at 62.6%, and its cash balance, characterized by good liquidity, reached RMB 27,426 million.

With its good operation performance, Times China's corporate credit rating was upgraded to "BB-" and "Ba3" by Fitch and Moody's, respectively, in March and April 2018. In August 2018, Times China was included as a constituent stock in the Hang Seng Composite LargeCap & MidCap Index, the Hang Seng Stock Connect Hong Kong Index and the Hang Seng Stock Connect Greater Bay Area Composite Index. Moreover, it has been evaluated very positively by the capital market.

Prominent Advantages of In-Depth Development Throughout the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Times China, in 2018, purchased 23 new land plots, which together constitute a total floor area of approximately 3.2 million square meters. The majority of those plots are in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Significantly, in October 2018 Times China tapped into Chengdu--the core of the southwest metropolitan circle--and achieved a breakthrough in the growth of its presence.

As at December 31, 2018, Times China had land reserves of approximately 18.45 million square meters in the 12 cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhuhai, Huizhou, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Qingyuan, Zhaoqing, Changsha and Chengdu. The land reserve within the Greater Bay Area (including Qingyuan) accounts for approximately 93% of that amount, thus comprising a base for the company's continued development.

In terms of urban renewal, Times China has made breakthroughs based on its accumulated strength, and successfully transformed four projects in 2018, with a total value of nearly RMB 14.5 billion.

Times China, in 2018, set forth toward the vision of "becoming a Fortune Global 500 company." In accordance with the new company name, it was repositioned as an "urban-development service provider" and established the goal of becoming an RMB 100 billion enterprise in the short term. Now, based on the continuous development of the core business, Times China is actively developing the industry, commerce, community services, home decoration and furnishing, education and other endeavors.

Times China Board Chairman Mr. Shum Chiu Hung, speaking at the conference, said the organization has conducted continuous, in-depth development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and therefore has a high market share in the territory. He added that 2019 was the company's twentieth anniversary and that Times China would henceforth make full use of the new opportunities and advantages brought forth by accelerated construction and development in the Greater Bay Area. Times China, he said, will continue to increase investment in this area, and gradually extend its presence to other economically developed, high-growth potential cities in Guangdong and all of China so as to maintain strong, healthy development.