Grand Ming Group Holdings Limited Announces Annual Results for the Year Ended 31 March 2018

Jun 26, 2018 09:40 JST

Source: Grand Ming Group Holdings Limited

Underlying Net Profit Increased by 42.4% to HK$171.3 Million
Declared Final Dividend of 5.8 HK Cents per Share

HONG KONG, Jun 26, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Grand Ming Group Holdings Limited (the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries, the "Group", stock code: 1271.HK) today announces its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2018 ("FY 2017/18").

Highlights

- Recorded revenue of HK$1,423.9 million, an increase of 34.9%.
- Recorded underlying profit, exclusive of the effect of changes in fair value of investment properties, of HK$171.3million, an increase of 42.4%
- Attained net profit of HK$171.8 million, representing a decrease of 15.4% over last year.
- Declared final dividend of 5.8 HK cents per share.
- Seek opportunities to expand landbank in Hong Kong and second tier cities in the PRC.

Total revenue of the Group increased 34.9% from HK$ 1,055.7 million for the year ended 31 March 2017 ("FY 2016/17") to HK$1,423.9 million for FY 2017/18. The increase in revenue was mainly attributable to the construction project at Kai Tak, Kowloon for which the construction work commenced in June 2016 and was in full swing during the year under review.

For the FY 2017/18, the Group's underlying profit, excluding the fair value gains on investment properties, amounted to HK$171.3 million, representing an increase of HK$51.0 million or 42.4% over that of HK$120.3 million in FY 2016/17. Underlying earnings per share was 24.1 HK cents (2017: 16.9 HK cents as adjusted for the bonus issue in August 2017). While the Group's profit for the year was HK$171.8 million, inclusive of an increase in fair value of investment properties of HK$0.5 million, representing a decrease of HK$31.2 million or 15.4% when compared with that of HK$203.0 million for FY 2016/17. Earnings per share was 24.2 HK cents (2017: 28.6 HK cents as adjusted for the bonus issue in August 2017).

With the proposed final dividend of 5.8 HK cents per share declared today, the Group is now in its 5th consecutive year of dividend payments since it became a listed company in 2013. Protecting and growing our shareholders investments and sharing profits through dividends remains a priority. Together with the interim dividend of 4.0 HK cents per share paid in December 2017, the total dividends for FY 2017/18 will amount to 9.8 HK cents per share, representing a payout ratio of approximately 40.6%.

Throughout FY 2017/18, the Group continued to execute on the strategic plan and achieved solid results. The Group's construction business remained the key revenue and profit contributor for FY 2017/18. The construction business delivered statisfory results with revenue increased by 39.6% or HK$361.7 million, from approximately HK$912.8 million for FY 2016/17 to HK$1,274.5 million for FY 2017/18, which was due to increased revenue recognised from the construction project at Kai Tak, Kowloon.

Revenue from the data centre portfolio (iTech Tower 1 and 2) remained steady over FY 2017/18. The data centre premises leasing business saw an increase of 3.0% or HK$4.2 million, from HK$140.8 million for FY 2016/17 to HK$145.0 million for FY 2017/18, mainly was driven by the a gradual climb in occupancy rates of iTech Tower 2 during the year under review on top of high occupancy rates in iTech Tower 1.

For the property development segment, the site formation and foundation works of the Group's first property development project at Sai Shan Road, Tsing Yi, New Territories, which was acquired in May 2016, are now progressing in good shape. The development of a gross floor area of approximately 400,000 square feet will consist of two blocks of 30-storey residential buildings together with clubhouse facilities and car parks.

In order to expand its property portfolio and swiftly launch the property to the market, the Group in October 2017 acquired another property at a consideration of approximately HK$814 million. The property is an en-bloc completed residential building located at No. 279 Prince Edward Road West, Kowloon, and comprises 18 residential units with the size ranging from 1,300 to 2,700 square feet. The Group has renamed the property as "Cristallo" and launched to market in March 2018. Since commencement of the sales campaign the Group received overwhelming market supports. One unit was subsequently contracted to sell in April 2018 with a contract sale of approximately HK$48 million, and completion is scheduled to take place in August 2018.

The Group is committed to grow its property development business. It acquired several premises at the basement floor, ground floor and first floor of No.39 Chatham Road South, Kowloon in April 2018 with an objective of converting them into the sales office and the show flats for upcoming sales of the Group's properties. Renovation works are expected to be commenced in June 2018 and the sales office is expected to be ready for use by the end of 2018.

Looking forward, the Group maintains an optimistic view on the general construction industry in Hong Kong but ongoing labour-related challenges remain. The Group will continue to pursue a prudent strategy to strike a balance between tendering new construction projects and reasonable profit margin.

Mr. Chan Hung Ming, Chairman and Executive Director of Grand Ming Group Holdings said, "I'm pleased to report to you leading into a milestone year, we are thrilled by the overwhelming response after the launch of sale of our first luxury apartment namely "Cristallo" in March 2018. This project is expected to bring the first revenue contribution to the Group's property development segment. We see market demand varying by asset class and region and we expect this to continue in the years ahead. We will maintain our disciplined, conservative approach to operations to ensure that we remain profitable while achieving our fundamental goals of protecting shareholder investment and sharing corporate profit with our shareholders. Therefore, in order to create a balance leveraged property portfolio, on the one hand, we will act very cautiously in investing and developing our third high-tier data centre and we are ready to explore development opportunity of new data centres outside Hong Kong. On the other hand, we will grow our landbank via opportunities available such as public tendering, joint ventures, property acquisitions, as well as explore opportunities outside Hong Kong such as second tier cities of Mainland China where the land cost are comparatively lower but have strong potential in economic growth that will in turn lead to a demand for property."

About Grand Ming Group Holdings Limited (Stock code: 1271.HK)
The Group is principally engaged in the business of building construction, property leasing and property development. As a local wholesale co-location provider of high-tier data centres, the Group is one of the dedicated service provider in Hong Kong which owns and uses the entire building for leasing to customers for data centre use. Its clients include multinational data centre operator, telecommunications company and financial institutions. With more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry, the Group also provides building construction services as a main contractor, and is involved in residential property development projects with prominent local developers, as well as offering alteration, renovation and fitting-out services for existing buildings in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the Group owns a land in Sai Shan Road, Tsing Yi for the purpose of developing a residential project with gross floor area of 400,000 square feet, as well as an en-bloc residential building in Prince Edward Road West, Kowloon being renamed as "Cristallo".

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Source: Grand Ming Group Holdings Limited
Sectors: Daily Finance, Daily News