CIFI Group Announces 2019 Annual Results

Quality Refinement, Efficiency Enhancement & Operational Upgrade

Core net profit of RMB6.903 billion, up 24.7% yoy

 Core net profit margin at 12.6%  Profitability maintains at industry's top level

Proposed final dividend of HK24 cents per share and special dividend of HK4 cents per share 

2019 total dividend of HK38 cents per share, up 27% yoy

Contracted sales target of RMB230.0 billion in 2020, up approx. 15% yoy

2019 ANNUAL RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS：

Stable Profitability with Continuous Return

• Core net profit reached RMB6.903 billion, up 24.7% year-on-year. Adjusted gross profit margin and core net profit margin amounted to 30.0% and 12.6% respectively. Core return on average equity was 24.8%.
• Proposed final dividend of RMB21.93 cents (or equivalent to HK24 cents) per share and proposed special dividend of RMB3.66 cents (or equivalent to HK4 cents) per share to mark the 20^th anniversary of the Group and to reward our shareholders' for their continuous support.
• Achieved sustainable earnings growth for 7 consecutive years since IPO, with accumulated dividends of HKD 1.44 per share.

Quality Sales with High Cash Collection

• In 2019, contracted sales and contracted gross floor area reached RMB200.6 billion and 12.036 million sq.m. respectively, representing strong year-on-year growth of 32.0% and 25.8%. Average selling price was approximately RMB16,700/sq.m. The Group completed 106% of its full-year 2019 contracted sales target of RMB190 billion.
• Cash collection ratio achieved over 90%, maintaining its leading position in the industry and reflecting its high quality sales and strong executive power.

Abundant Saleable Resources with Continuous Growth

• Reasonable scale of land bank with a total gross floor area of approximately 65.4 million sq.m., and a total saleable resource of over RMB980 billion, with 87% located in first-, second- and quasi-second-tier cities.
• With abundant saleable resources, national coverage will resume rapidly. Saleable resources exceed RMB380 billion in 2020, while the full-year 2020 contracted sales target is RMB230 billion.

Strong Financial Position with Abundant Cash

• High risk resistance, abundant cash on hand amounted to RMB57.64 billion (2018: RMB44.62 billion).
• Prudent financial management, net-debt-to-equity ratio was 68.5% and weighted average cost of indebtedness was 6.0%, which were similar to those of last year (as at the end of 2018: 67.2% and 5.8%).

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 27 March 2020 - 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 2019.

The Group has proactively secured land bank in the past two years, covering 71 cities in different geographical regions to diversify the land bank with increasing attributable interest. Total gross floor area of newly acquired land amounted to 15.2 million sq.m. with an attributable interest of 65% and an average land cost of RMB5,425/sq.m. The Group focuses on first- and second-tier cities to expand land bank, with 87% of its land bank located in those cities.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020, the sales and construction of the property market temporarily halted. With the epidemic being gradually under control, most of the sales offices have reopened, construction rapidly resumed in operation, and the business operation of developers has recovered steadily. Looking ahead in 2020, the real estate policy tone in China in 2020 will still be "houses are built to be inhabited, not for speculation", and it is unlikely that the austerity policies such as purchase restriction will be relaxed substantially in the near future. "One city, one policy" will continue to be the main principle of local policy control. However, due to the influence brought by the epidemic, local governments will implement measures of "differentiated policies for different cities" that are conducive to the stable development of the property market.

Mr. Lin Zhong, Chairman and Executive Director of the Group said,"As a large-scale national real estate developer, CIFI adheres to the efficient and high asset turnover operating strategies. We stress on shortening development cycles, high cash turnover, conservative debt positions as well as balanced profitability to maintain a leading position in the market and continue to generate considerable returns to our shareholders. On the other hand, supply of saleable resources of the Group is sufficient throughout 2020. We are confident that our massive and well diversified saleable resources acquired at reasonable land costs will be defensive in the current uncertain real estate environment and will create enormous value when the market recovers after the epidemic. We are confident that we can continue to provide our customers with high-quality products and services and achieve the contracted sales target of RMB230.0 billion for the full-year of 2020."

About CIFI (Group):

Headquartered in Shanghai, CIFI is one of China's top real estate developers. CIFI principally focuses on developing high-quality properties in first-, second-, and quasi-second-tier cities in China. CIFI develops various types of properties, including residential, office and commericial complexes.

To learn more about the Company, please visit CIFI's website at: http://www.cifi.com.cn