Latest news with #HK1.8
Mint
3 days ago
- Business
- Mint
New World's Bond Coupon Delay Raises Three Questions
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- In the bond world, not calling a perpetual is bad. But not repaying coupon? That's way worse. Hong Kong-based New World Development Co.'s decision to defer interest payments on four perpetual notes took investors by surprise. While this is by no means an action of default — a perpetual resembles an equity when business conditions get tough — it's nonetheless a highly unconventional move. As such, the real estate developer, controlled by the family empire of tycoon Henry Cheng, must clarify the confusion it has created among investors and bankers. There are three main questions worth asking. First, why is New World deferring its coupon payments now? It's negotiating with banks HK$87.5 billion ($11.2 billion) of refinancing in the hope of completing a deal by the end of June. As of Friday, lenders had committed more than HK$35 billion, or about 40% of the total. It's worth noting that this deferral could save the developer only about HK1.8 billion annually. By all means, not paying perpetual coupons is a credit-negative event, especially in the eye of Chinese banks, which might be stepping in to replace foreign lenders if the latter cut their credit lines. On the mainland, most perpetuals are issued by creditworthy state-owned companies, such as big banks and industrials, which habitually redeem at the first reset date and repay all interest. So why is New World rocking the boat when it should put on a performance and behave like a pristine investment-grade borrower instead? This brings us to the second question: How tight is New World's liquidity position? Companies with decent cash flow might want to keep paying coupons until the mega loan deal is sealed first. Up to the company's surprise announcement, investors could have been forgiven for thinking that the developer was troubled but not distressed. After all, New World has got some strong tailwinds. A recent plunge in Hong Kong's benchmark borrowing rate is boosting demand for home purchases. Last week, a luxury residential project in the city's southern district, which New World owns 50% of, pulled in more than HK$1 billion. For the fiscal year ending June, Bloomberg Intelligence expects the company to beat its Hong Kong sales target of HK$11 billion by 10%. Business is picking up in mainland China as well. The developer has raised its sales target by 27% to 14 billion yuan ($2 billion). Going forward, investors will be skeptical of New World's liquidity position. As of 2024 year-end, it had HK$21 billion in cash. But the company does not disclose what percentage is being held in mainland China, which has various capital controls. In other words, money onshore may not be easily transferred to Hong Kong for debt repayments. In addition, is that seemingly large cash pile from five months ago still unrestricted? Third, will there be any spillover? The Cheng family is probably trying hard to ring fence and ensure New World's woes don't affect other parts of its business empire, such as Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd., or toll roads operator CTF Services Ltd. But for the rest of us, the more pertinent question is whether Hong Kong's reputation as a creditworthy community is still intact. Unlike mainland Chinese companies that don't have a long track record and thus have to swallow stringent lending conditions, the city's blue-chip names have for decades enjoyed lenient and cozy relationships with creditors. Unfortunately, New World's surprise coupon deferral is eroding that mutual trust and raising some very uncomfortable questions. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. A former investment banker, she was a markets reporter for Barron's. She is a CFA charterholder. More stories like this are available on
Zawya
21-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
CR Construction Announces Annual Results
Recorded Double-Digit Growth in Revenue and Gross Profit, Proposed a Final Dividend of HK1.8 Cents per Share Highlights: Revenue increased by 11.4% to approximately HK$6,066.0 million. Revenue generated from building construction works increased by 15.1% to HK$5,414.5 million. Gross profit increased by 15.4% to HK$353.2 million. Basic earnings per share was HK10.74 cents. The Board recommended the payment of final dividend of HK1.8 cents per share. Financial Highlights: For the year ended 31 Dec 2024 HK$'000 2024 2023 Change Revenue Building Construction Works Repair, Maintenance, Alteration and Addition ("RMAA") Environmental Operations 6,066,037 5,414,578 511,985 139,474 5,445,560 4,703,000 528,681 213,879 +11.4% +15.1% -3.2% -34.8% Gross profit Gross profit margin 353,232 5.8% 305,991 5.6% +15.4% +0.2 ppts. Net profit (attributable to Owners of the Company) 53,715 71,887 -25.3% Earnings per share (HK cents) 10.74 14.38 -25.3% HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 21 March 2025 - CR Construction Group Holdings Limited (" CR Construction" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group"; stock code: a building contractor in Hong Kong, announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2024 (the "Financial Year under Review"). During the Financial Year under Review, the revenue recorded by the Group amounted to approximately HK$6,066.0 million representing an increase of approximately 11.4% as compared to approximately HK$5,445.6 million for the year ended 31 December 2023 (the "Corresponding Period Last Year"). Net profit of the Group (attributable to Owners of the Company) during the Financial Year under Review was approximately HK$53.7 million. During the Financial Year under Review, gross profit of the Group was approximately HK$353.2 million, representing an increase of approximately 15.4% as compared to approximately HK$306.0 million for the Corresponding Period Last Year. The Group's gross profit margin was approximately 5.8% and 5.6% for the year ended 31 December 2024 and 2023, respectively. During the Financial Year under Review, earnings per share of the Group was approximately HK10.74 cents (for the year ended 31 December 2023: HK14.38 cents). The Board recommended the payment of final dividend of HK1.8 cents per share. BUSINESS REVIEW Construction Operations Building Construction Works For the year ended 31 December 2024, the revenue generated from the building construction works was HK$5,414.5 million, representing an increase of approximately 15.1% as compared to approximately HK$4,703.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2023. During the Financial Year under Review, the gross profit of building construction works was approximately HK$238.1 million, representing an increase of approximately 16.5% as compared to approximately HK$204.4 million for the Corresponding Period Last Year. The gross profit margin was approximately 4.4% for the year ended 31 December 2024. Repair, Maintenance, Alteration and Addition ("RMAA") The revenue generated from the RMAA works decreased by approximately 3.2% from approximately HK$528.7 million for the year ended 31 December 2023 to approximately HK$512.0 million for the year ended 31 December 2024. The decrease was mainly attributable to existing projects were closed to completion during the Financial Year under Review. During the Financial Year under Review, the gross profit of RMAA works was approximately HK$70.9 million, representing an increase of approximately 14.9% as compared to approximately HK$61.7 million for the Corresponding Period Last Year. The gross profit margin increased by approximately 2.1 ppts to approximately 13.8%. Environmental Operations The revenue generated from the environmental operations was decreased from approximately HK$213.9 million for the Corresponding Period Last Year to approximately HK$139.5 million for the Financial Year under Review. The decrease was mainly attributable to decrease in revenue from new and existing projects from construction and rehabilitation services, which was partially offset by increase from sewage and reclaimed water treatment services, during the Financial Year under Review. During the Financial Year under Review. The gross profit of environmental operations was approximately HK$44.2 million, representing an increase of approximately 10.8% as compared to approximately HK$39.9 million for the Corresponding Period Last Year. The gross profit margin increased by approximately 13 ppts to approximately 31.7%. CONTRACT COSTS The Group's contract costs primarily consisted of subcontracting costs, material costs, direct staff costs, site overheads and provision for rectification works and claims. For the year ended 31 December 2024, the contract costs recorded by the Group were approximately HK$5,712.8 million, representing an increase of approximately 11.2% compared to approximately HK$5,139.6 million for the year ended 31 December 2023. PROSPECTS Subsequent to 31 December 2024, the Group has been further awarded 4 new projects relating to 2 building construction works contracts with original contract sum of approximately HK$4.1 billion and 2 RMAA works contract and with original contract sum of approximately HK$22.4 million. The Group has also placed significant emphasis on technological innovation to enhance its core competitiveness in the construction industry. The total expenditure for research and development was approximately by HK$20.1 million. During the Financial Year under Review, the Group has improved our "Smart Site Safety System (4S)" and successfully obtained the ISO27001 certification. There are several key modules had been optimised, including adding the Hong Kong Observatory's real-time data to the system platform, enhancing the data interface visualization, advancing RFID equipment and systems, which further enhanced the efficiency of the tower crane and mobile plant safety alert systems, better meeting the practical needs of site workers. In addition, the Group has successfully developed a Safety Tracking Watch for construction sites, which can real-time monitor the location and health status of site workers, providing comprehensive safety protection. At the same time, the company has also optimised the certificate module in the training system, adding OCR scanning and data tracking functions to improve asset management efficiency and user experiences. The Group has also signed a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") with the Hong Kong Centre for Construction Robotics, strengthening the collaboration in the area of innovation in the construction industry, such as smart construction technology research and development, robotics applications, talent cultivation, and commercialization. The joint efforts aim to promote intelligence and sustainability in the construction industry. In addition, the ZCIEE has successfully developed an integrated rural domestic sewage treatment equipment, which has already passed the performance test by a third-party testing institution. The equipment has successfully achieved commercialized sales, marking an important step for the company in converting its proprietary technology into economic benefits. The Group will enhance its technology research and development, and is committed to introducing various innovative technology tools in both construction and environmental projects to improve management efficiency, construction safety and environmental protection. Since the sentiment of the property market is gradually stabilising, the outlook for 2025 should remain stable. Additionally, with ongoing projects in new development areas like the Northern Metropolis, they are expected to have a positive impact on our Group's business. However, the Group will still face challenges such as talent shortages, increasing skilled labour and material costs in the construction industry. To address these challenges, the Group will continue to enhance the utilisation of the Labour Importation Scheme for the Construction Sector and focus on identifying new and potential construction opportunities for profitable growth. In addition, leveraging our industry experience and expertise, our Group is keen to explore suitable business opportunities in the construction sector both locally and #CRConstruction #華營建築 #AnnualResults The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. CR Construction Group Holdings Limited CR Construction Group Holdings Limited, which is carrying out construction business for over 55 years locally, is one of the leading building contractors in Hong Kong. The Group principally act as a main contractor in building construction works and RMAA works projects across public and private sectors in Hong Kong. As a main contractor, the Group is responsible for (i) overall management of the projects; (ii) formulating work programmes; (iii) engaging subcontractors and supervising their works; (iv) sourcing construction materials; (v) communication and coordination with the customers and their consultant teams; and (vi) safeguarding compliance with safety, environmental and other contractual requirements. CR Construction
