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In the first half of 2011, the Central Government has launched a series of austerity measures to stabilise the property market in the PRC aimed at fending off speculation and suppressing overheating property prices. The most noteworthy of these measures were property purchase limits and restricting bank mortgage conditions. As such, transaction volume in some first tier cities has dropped noticeably and the property market began to show signs of cooling down under the resulting pressure. However, based on our steady expansion strategy, we have established our solid foundation in first-tier cities. At the same time, we have been expanding property real estate agency service business in second- and third-tier cities years ago to meet market demand and leverage project development, the Group managed to capture the growth opportunities and achieve continuous steady growth in results.
For the six months ended 30 June 2011, the Group recorded a turnover of HK$749.1 million, up by 33% against HK$563.9 million in the corresponding period last year. Profit attributable to shareholders rose from HK$59.5 million to HK$75.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 27%. Basic earnings per share were HK16.48 cents (2010 restated: HK15.23 cents).
During the period under review, the primary and secondary property real estate agency service businesses of the Group registered a turnover of HK$440.4 million and HK$246.8 million respectively, accounting for 59% and 33% of the Group's total turnover. The remaining 8% or HK$61.9 million was derived from the property management business. Geographically, Guangzhou contributed about 46% of the total turnover and about 54% came from outside Guangzhou.
For the six months ended 30 June 2011, the Group handled approximately 47,900 primary property transactions involving a total gross floor area of about 5 million square meters with a total transaction value of about HK$41.6 billion, a rise of around 44% compared to HK$28.9 billion in corresponding period last year. During the period, the Group was an exclusive agent for around 430 projects with 362 of them contributed turnover to the Group during the period, as compared to 320 projects in the last corresponding period.
During the period under review, urbanisation in second- and third-tier cities has been accelerating with more comprehensive community facilities and transportation networks. These cities include Foshan, Zhongshan and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, Hefei and Huainan in Anhui Province, Changsha and Xiangtan in Hunan Province, Xinyang and Xinxiang in Henan Province, as well as non-provincial capital cities in other provinces such as Jiangsu and Shandong. The Group has collaborated closely with major developers to promote large projects such as Evergrande Metropolis in Danyang, Rhine Town in Tianjin, Vanke Crystal City in Foshan and Gemdale Eton in Zhuhai to match the market demand. These projects have been well received in the market. The cooperation has not only enlarged the Group's market share in these areas, but has also reflected the high recognition by developers and customers of its professional service and strong sales capability.
Riding on the continuous growth of the PRC economy and the rises in the income level of Chinese citizens and their demand for better quality of life, developers have placed greater importance in initial project planning. During the period under review, the Group has provided comprehensive initial planning services to 75 projects from professional advice on location and market positioning to marketing strategies and sales support. The Group has made these services available to developers in more than 50 cities across the country. It also has more than 20 offices serving markets including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Foshan, Zhongshan, Tianjin, Shanghai, Beijing, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Hubei, Hunan, Shandong, Shannxi, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan Provinces. By geographical location, Guangzhou accounted for about 32% of the Group's total turnover from primary property real estate agency service business, while the percentage from outside Guangzhou accounted for 68%.
In view of the persistent rise of property prices in Mainland China, the introduction of austerity measures by the Central Government mainly targets overheated first-tier cities such as Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai. The Group has been focusing on the Guangzhou market, a first-tier city, which actually is self-use buyer market and has lower property prices than other first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, together with the Group's persistent high market share there, the effect of these measures on the primary property real estate agency service business has been minimal. Capturing an increasing number of agency contracts in the second- and third-tier cities, the management has taken the initiative to develop these regions many years ago. Apart from leveraging its knowledge of the local property market conditions, setting up branches and recruiting professionals, the Group has also strived to secure more exclusive agency contracts. This has helped the Group maintain growth in its primary property real estate agency service business.
The austerity measures have had a relatively greater impact on the secondary property market. Due to most of the secondary property owners have changed to a wait-and-see attitude towards the property market and are more prudent in selling their properties, this has led to limited property supply in the market with the overall transaction volume of secondary properties affected accordingly.
With this decline in the transaction volume of secondary residential properties, the Group has shifted the focus of its services to lease and commercial projects which were less affected by the austerity measures. These services included trading and lease of offices and shops in order to increase commission income. On the other hand, the industry consolidation has also eliminated medium-to-small size property agencies which could not keep up with the pace of market development. The resulting consolidation has enabled the Group to enlarge its market share of the secondary property real estate agency services business and achieve satisfactory results. As at 30 June 2011, the Group handled approximately 22,400 secondary property transactions (2010: 19,500 transactions). Turnover from this segment increased by about 32% to approximately HK$246.8 million as compared to the last corresponding period. In response to the market development trends, the Group steadily expanded the number of branches and opened a total of 40 branches during the period under review. Currently, the Group has about 390 branches in operation.
In addition to providing property agency services, the Group was able to launch a wider range of value-added services including mortgage referral services, property valuations and property auctions. These services not only provide additional income sources to the Group, but also help to strengthen its brand image. The Group's mortgage referral business is fully developed. Through our comprehensive customer network, the Group was able to offer professional advice and referral services in relation to guaranteed mortgages along with the provision of secondary property real estate agency service to customers.
The Group has provided property management services during the period under review to about 100 residential and commercial projects and shopping arcades in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhan involving more than 120,000 units with a total gross floor area covering more than 10 million square meters. The property management services have generated a stable income and a large customer base for the Group, which would also support the Group's business development in the future.
Looking into the second half of the year, the Group believes the PRC market will be affected by the changes in the global economic environment and the Central Government will maintain its austerity measures to the property market. Nevertheless, with the vigorous Chinese economy and rising living standard of Chinese citizens, together with the rapid ongoing urbanisation, the Group remains positive about the long-term development prospects of the PRC property market.
For its primary property real estate agency service business, the Group intends to secure more exclusive agency contracts to ensure a stable income in the year ahead by leveraging its good reputation, abundant industry experience and expertise as well as its close partnership with major developers. The Group is providing agency services for a number of renowned developers and property projects including Vanke, Evergrande, Poly, Gemdale, Star River, Citic, Agile Property, KWG Property, New World China Land, Sun Hung Kai Properties, Favorview Palace and Asian Games City. At the same time, the Group is also striving to enhance its sales networks in second and third-tier cities to expand its geographical coverage and market share.
In the secondary property real estate agency service business, the Group plans to steadily expand the number of branches while closely monitoring market conditions. Meanwhile, it is enlisting more experienced sales professionals to bolster the Group's overall competitiveness so as to expand its business network and seize the secondary property market opportunity as it develops.
Moving forward, the Group is continuously striving to provide our clients with professional and superior property real estate agency and consulting services through its firm business foundation as well as a prudent and pragmatic business approach. At the same time, we plan to actively expand the Group's real estate-related value-added services businesses. We strongly believe with our brand, professionalism in service and strategic location of our business presence, the Group can optimise the upcoming opportunities in the market, bringing satisfactory returns to our shareholders.