china overseas development company limited announces 2017 annual results | 中國海外集團-必一运动官网

(hong kong, march 26, 2018) china overseas development company limited ("china overseas development" or "group", stock code: 0688.hk) is pleased to announce today 2017 annual results.

in 2017, the group’s main operating indicators grew steadily and hit a record high. under the situation of stagnant housing prices and declining sales in the first- and second-tier cities in the mainland, the group's sales volume grew steadily. the annual contracted sales reached hkd 232.07 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.2%, corresponding to a sales area of ​​14.46 million square meters, a year-on-year increase of 10.9% . the group has effectively responded to the impact of regulatory policies such as purchase restrictions and visa restrictions, as well as credit tightening. the sales collection rate exceeded 90%, and the collection amount reached an innovation of hkd 227.8 billion.

the profitability of the group continues to maintain its industry leadership. in 2017, the group achieved operating income of hk$166.04 billion; realized operating profit of hk$62.87 billion, profit attributable to shareholders of hk$40.77 billion, and net profit margin of 24.6%, maintaining the industry's leading position. the group plans to pay a final dividend of 45 hk cents per share. together with the interim dividend, the total annual dividend is 80 hk cents per share. at the end of 2017, the group's shareholders' equity increased by 19.5% year-on-year to hk$265.69 billion. the shareholders' equity increased significantly and the net asset value maintained the industry's leading position.

the group is financially sound and has ample cash. the group has always adhered to a prudent and prudent financial strategy and maintained the lowest debt ratio among real estate companies with annual sales of more than 100 billion yuan. at the end of 2017, the group's net lending ratio was 27.9%, the asset-liability ratio was 57.6%, and the cash in hand at the end of the year was hk$104.05 billion. the annual weighted average financing cost decreased from 4.76% in 2016 to 4.27% in 2017, maintaining one of the lowest financing costs in the industry. the group believes that under the circumstances of accelerated deleveraging and tightening of credit, sound financial control, abundant cash, and low-cost financing advantages will continue to enhance the group's competitiveness.

the group adheres to a prudent and moderately aggressive investment strategy, and the newly-added land bank hit a record high. in 2017, the group purchased 76 land parcels in 31 cities in the mainland and hong kong. the total newly increased land bank construction area was 17.41 million square meters and the equity construction area was 14.63 million square meters, which provided sufficient reserves for the acceleration of growth in 2018. land resources. at the end of 2017, the construction area of ​​the land bank of the group's series of companies reached 82.78 million square meters, which can effectively meet the needs of continuous growth in the next three years.

the group leveraged its competitive advantages in the integration of investment, construction, and operation, and achieved a number of major breakthroughs in the investment and development of major projects. the group and its parent company, china state construction engineering corporation, china construction third engineering bureau, china state construction engineering, and china construction fund jointly won the "xiong'an no. 1 bid" to invest in the construction of the xiong'an citizen service center project and will be responsible for the overall operation of the project. in november 2017, the group won the bid for a 299 acres of land located in the qinhuang temple section of tianfu new district, chengdu. the land transfer plan clarified that the commanding height of the land was 677 meters, which is expected to become the first tallest building in china and the second tallest building in the world. the beixin'an project, the largest shed renovation project along beijing west chang'an avenue invested and constructed by the group in shijingshan district, beijing, has a total construction area of ​​3.2 million square meters and is progressing smoothly. the huashan longcheng project invested and constructed by the group in jinan, with a total construction area of ​​approximately 10.2 million square meters, is one of the largest urban integrated ecological residential projects in northern china. in 2017, the huashan longcheng project achieved sales of rmb 11.25 billion. with a sales area of ​​1.03 million square meters, it ranks first in the national real estate industry for a single annual sales area and second in sales amount.

the scale of group-held commercial assets continues to grow. as of the end of 2017, the group’s series of companies have operated a total of 3.66 million square meters of commercial properties, of which 38 are china overseas office buildings, which are one of the largest single-ownership office developers in mainland china; huanyu city, huanyuhui, fu there are 12 comprehensive shopping centers such as huali; 11 star-rated hotels. in 2020, the group's commercial property revenue is expected to exceed 5 billion, and in 2023 it will achieve the goal of annual revenue of over 10 billion.

the group promotes innovative businesses in an orderly manner, and a number of new businesses are ready to be launched. the group has established innovative businesses focusing on long-term rental apartments, culture, education, elderly care, logistics, etc. in 2017, the shenzhen contemporary art museum and urban planning exhibition hall, which the group is responsible for construction and operation, were put into operation; three offices were operated and managed in dongguan and foshan k12 school; operates and manages china shipping logistics science and technology park in tianjin binhai new area; builds kindergartens, extracurricular schools, healthy living halls and other projects in jinan, qingdao, foshan, chongqing and other places, and plans to put them into operation in 2018. long-term rental apartments have been deployed in multiple locations and gradually put into operation.

the group maintains the highest credit rating in the industry. in 2017, the group’s investment ratings were maintained at baa1/stable, bbb /stable and a–/stable by moody’s, standard & poor’s and fitch rating agencies, respectively, and continued to maintain the industry’s highest credit rating, reflecting the capital market’s recognition of leading position and financial soundness in china's real estate market.

the group judges that china’s real estate market will show four characteristics in 2018:

first, industry level: the real estate industry is facing profound changes. the government has established the overall positioning of "housing and staying without speculation", the real estate industry has shifted from "selling houses" to "renting and purchasing", major changes on the supply side of land and housing, and the process of launching long-term mechanisms such as property taxes significant acceleration will have a profound impact on the real estate market, will fundamentally affect the real estate development model and business logic, promote the real estate industry to a new cycle, and reshape the market structure.

second, the policy level: the real estate control policies continue to be unrelenting, the financial deleveraging in mainland china accelerates, and credit is further tightened.

thirdly, the market level: local markets continue to differentiate, market concentration will continue to increase, and the strong market structure will become more prominent.

fourth, customer level: the customer base with upgraded housing consumption will become the mainstream of the market.

in response to the profound changes that are taking place in the chinese real estate market, the group has established "residential development", "urban operation" and "creative design" on the basis of consolidating and upgrading the main business of residential development. and modern services" three industrial clusters.

in response to the market situation, mr. yan jianguo, chairman and chief executive officer of china overseas development, said: “china overseas development is committed to becoming an outstanding international real estate development and operation group and a leader in china’s real estate industry. as one of the enterprises, in response to the acceleration of industry integration, it is confident to further expand its market share. the group has always positioned itself in mainstream cities and serves mainstream customers, is confident to grasp the demand for housing consumption upgrades, and continues to provide good products and services to achieve good benefit, seek fast from good, achieve good and fast development."

looking forward to 2018, the group will focus its main resources on residential development, accelerate turnover, accelerate scale development, achieve rapid growth, and achieve balanced growth in scale and profit. at the same time, the group will seize the opportunity of profound changes in china's real estate industry, increase resource input, increase the construction scale and operating standards of commercial properties such as office buildings, hotels, shopping centers, and long-term rental apartments, and expand the layout of new businesses such as education, pensions, and logistics. , continue to increase the proportion of stable income from real estate development and operation, and some projects will be put into operation in 2018 and the next few years, actively cultivate new growth points, and achieve sound and rapid development.

mr. yan jianguo said: “in 2017, the group’s sales scale and profit reached record highs, and actively diversified its land resources. the land reserve reached a record high, which was achieved in 2018. faster growth and a solid foundation for future sustainable development. taking into account market changes and the increase in the group's sales volume, the annual contracted sales target of the group's series of companies in 2018 has been raised by 25% to hk$290 billion."