CIFI’s total profit grew by 28.7% to RMB11.9 billion in 2020

CIFI Group Announces 2020 Annual Results

• Total profit grew by 28.7% to RMB11.9 billion
  exceeding RMB10 billion for the first time
• Core net profit to equity owners of the Company increased
  by 16.3% to a new record high of RMB8.03 billion
• Dividend growing continuously since IPO and final dividend of 29 HK cents per share in 2020
• Contracted
  sales target of RMB265.0 billion in 2021

 

Results Highlights:

 

Revenue and net profit
hit a record high with dividend growing continuously since IPO

• Recognised revenue increased by 27.2% to RMB71.8
  billion.
• Core net profit to equity owners of the Company increased
  by 16.3% to RMB8.03 billion.
• Adjusted gross profit margin and core net profit
  margin stood at 25.1% and 11.2% respectively.
• Core return on average equity was 24.2%, maintaining
  the industry’s leading level.
• Proposed final dividend of RMB24.3 cents
  (equivalent to 29 HK cents) per share, an increase of 10.8%. Total dividends
  for the year amounted to RMB34.1 cents (equivalent to 40 HK cents) per share
  with a year-on-year growth of 5.3%.
• Achieved sustainable earnings growth since IPO,
  with accumulated dividends of HK$1.84 per share.

Sales reached a new height
with abundant quality land bank

• Completed the Group’s full year contracted sales
  target in 2020. The Group achieved contracted sales and contracted gross floor
  area of RMB231.0 billion and 15,385,000 sq.m. in 2020, representing a growth of
  15.2% and 27.8% respectively. Contracted average selling price was approximately
  RMB15,000 per sq.m.
• Achieved a cash collection ratio of over 90% from
  contracted sales, maintaining the industry’s leading level.
• Pressed ahead with the goal of “achieving RMB10B
  sales in each city”. A total of 18 cities ranked top 10 in local markets sales.
• The new land bank acquired through diversified channels
  accounted for 51%  of the total new land
  bank. Acquired 12 commercial complexes since 2020.
• Contracted sales target of RMB265.0 billion in 2021.

Stable and healthy debt
structure with high risk resistance

• Abundant cash on hand, reaching RMB 51.15
  billion.
• As at 31 December 2020, net debt-to-equity ratio and
  weighted average cost of indebtedness improved to 64.0% and 5.4% respectively.

Recognized by international
and onshore credit rating agencies

• Moody’s and Lianhe Global upgraded the Company’s
  credit ratings outlook to “Ba2” (with “Stable” outlook) and “BBB–” (with
  “Stable” outlook) respectively.
• Standard & Poor’s and Fitch reiterated the
  Company’s credit rating to be “BB” (with “Stable” outlook).
• CCXI and Lianhe Credit Rating assigned “AAA” (with
  “Stable” outlook) onshore credit ratings to the Company and CIFI PRC.

Promote
low carbon practise and maintain strong competitiveness

• All residential products under CIFI have obtained
  the Green Building Design Label of one-star or above. During the year, 25 CIFI
  projects received a Two-star Green Building Label.
• CIFI’s green bonds have been included in Sustainable
  and Green Exchange (STAGE) which is newly launched by the Stock Exchange of
  Hong Kong (“HKEx”). CIFI is the only real estate company in China to be listed
  on STAGE among 13 companies in the first batch.
• Teamed up with Alibaba (HKEx stock code: 9988) to
  launch HUMAN Smart Healthy Living 2.0 Operating System and received the CIOC
  innovation award in 2020.

Strongly
committed to sustainable development and corporate social responsibility

• Published the first standalone Environmental,
  Social and Governance (ESG) report and enhanced the disclosure of the
  enterprise’s ESG management to a new level, in response to the amended  reporting guide of the HKEx.
• First announced the offshore green finance
  framework, and successfully issued the first offshore green bonds in the same month,
  representing the Group’s first step towards the green financing practice.
• CIFI Charity Foundation donated RMB20 million to establish
  a dedicated fund fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, which provided medical
  supplies and subsidized medical personnel arriving at Wuhan from Shanghai. 

Received various
national and international honours and recognition; CIFI’s market position in
the industry has been further enhanced

• CIFI was the top 14 of
  “Top 20 China Real Estate Developers 2020” and “Top 10 Stable China Real Estate
  Developers 2020” awarded by China Real Estate Association.
• CIFI was selected in “Hang Seng China (Hong
  Kong-listed) 100 Index” and “Hang Seng Large-Mid Cap Value Tilt Index”, and was
  the only private real estate developer in the “Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability
  Index”.
• CIFI was awarded the “2020 Best Managed Companies
  (BMC)” by Deloitte and Harvard Business 
  Review and became one of the only two real estate enterprises among the awarded  enterprises.
• CIFI was awarded the “Institutional Investor Magazine
  – All-Asia Executive Team 2020”.

Financial Summary:

	For the year ended 31 December		Growth
	2020	2019
Contracted sales
Contracted sales (RMB’ billion)	231.0	200.6	+15.2%
Contracted GFA (sq.m.)	15,385,100	12,035,500	+27.8%
Key financial performance (RMB’million)
Recognized revenue	71,799	56,451	+27.2%
Gross profit	15,609	14,116	+10.6%
Profit for the year attributable to equity owners	8,032	6,443	+24.7%
Core net profit attributable to equity owners	8,026	6,903	+16.3%
Core basic earnings per share, RMB cents	100	89	+12.4%
Proposed final dividend per share, RMB cents	24.30	21.93	+10.8%
	As at 31 Dec 2020	As at 31 Dec 2019
Selected balance sheet data (RMB’million)
Total assets	379,299	324,855	+16.8%
Total indebtedness	104,715	103,699	+1.0%
Total equity	83,642	68,197	+22.6%
Equity attributable to equity owners	36,052	30,199	+19.4%
Net debt-to-equity ratio	64.0%	65.6%	-1.6 p.p.
Weighted average cost of indebtedness	5.4%	6.0%	-0.6 p.p.
Land bank (GFA, million sq.m.)
–          Total	56.5	50.7	+11.4%
–          Attributable	30.8	26.5	+16.2%

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 25 March
2021 – CIFI Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd (“CIFI” or
the “Group”, HKEx stock code: 884), a leading real estate developer engaged in
property development and investment business mainly in the first-, second- and
quasi-second-tier cities in China, is pleased to announce its annual results
for the year ended 31 December 2020.

The Group expects a steady development of China’s
real estate market in 2021 that new construction remains at a high level, sales
in first- and second-tier cities continue to be driven by  consumption upgrades, and sales are expected
to hit record high. In terms of land market, due to the tightening of financing
channels for real estate developers and the concentration of land supply in 22
cities in phases, reasonable resource allocation and profitability
considerations will pose greater challenges to operation capacity. Developers
will be more prudent in land acquisition, and transaction will become more rational.
Industry consolidation will accelerate, resulting in increasing concentration.

The Group has penetrated into the Yangtze River
Delta region. In the early years, it focused on all core cities in the
Shanghai-Rim Metropolis with Shanghai as the centre, while putting emphasis on the
Pan Bohai Rim Region and Shandong Province. In recent years, more efforts have been
made  to cover the core cities around the
Greater Bay Area metropolis, and the Chengdu-Chongqing real estate market has
been further developed. It is believed that the national layout will enable the
Group to obtain benefits during the process of this round of urbanization.

 

In 2021, the Group’s contracted sales target is
RMB265 billion, and it has sufficient saleable resources to support the
completion of the full-year contracted sales target. Currently, the Group has
covered 89 cities across the country and established presence in 7 regions.
Diversified land bank and premium project reserves have laid a solid foundation
for the growth of the Group’s  contracted
sales.

 

Mr. Lin Zhong, Chairman
and Executive Director of the Group said, “We believe
that the central government’s advocacy of the real estate policy tone that “houses
are built to be inhabited, not for speculation”, “renting and acquiring at the
same time” and “differentiated policies for different cities” will remain
unchanged. We expect
the various restrictive policies to continue in the near future. The Group
will uphold the long-term development strategy, persistently improve the corporate
operation efficiency, continue to enhance its brand advantages and put emphasis
on product innovation, follow the principle of prudent management of finance,
and build up the strengths to defend the market volatility. Meanwhile, the Group
puts great significance on promoting its management standard on environmental
protection, social responsibility and corporate governance, which will be
uplifted to the level of the Group’s strategic planning. We pledge full
commitment to forging CIFI as one of the Fortune Global 500 with outstanding results,
persistent performance of social responsibility and excellent corporate
governance, and create encouraging returns for shareholders.”