CIFI Group Announces 2019 Interim Results

Balanced Growth Prudent Development

Core net profit of RMB2,870 million, increased by 17.3% yoy Core net profit margin at 14.3%Proposed interim dividend of HK10 cents per share, up 43% yoyRanked 14^th nationally in terms of contracted sales of RMB88.44 billion in 1H 2019Contracted sales soared by 33.9% Cash collection ratio reached 95%

2019 INTERIM RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS:

Core net profit reached RMB2,870 million, up 17.3% year-on-year. Adjusted gross profit margin and core net profit margin amounted to 34.5% and 14.3% respectively.
Proposed interim dividend of RMB8.93 cents ( or equivalent to HK10 cents) per share, increased by 42.9% year-on-year.
Contracted sales and contracted gross floor area reached RMB88.44 billion and 5,088,200 sq.m. respectively, representing strong year-on-year growth of 33.9% and 17.5% respectively. During the period, the average selling price was approximately RMB17,400/sq.m. The Group achieved a cash collection ratio of over 95% from contracted sales. In the first seven months of 2019, the Group already completed 54% of its full year 2019 contracted sales target of RMB190 billion.
Abundant cash on hand amounted to RMB54.30 billion. Net debt-to-equity ratio was 69.5%. Weighted average cost of indebtedness was 5.9%, which was similar to that of last year. (As at the end of 2018: RMB44.62 billion, 67.2% and 5.8%)
Strategically entered 3 new cities and expanded our geographical coverage and diversified into cities with different tiers. CIFI was ranked 14th nationally in terms of contracted sales amount in the first half of 2019 according to the "China Real Estate Enterprises Sales Ranking in the First Half of 2019" published by CRIC Information Group.
International and onshore credit rating agencies continued to endorse CIFI's efforts in sales, disciplined land-bank expansion and prudent financial management. Fitch and Moody's maintained the Company's credit rating at "BB" (with "Stable" outlook) and "Ba3" (with "Positive" outlook) respectively, while Standard & Poor's upgraded the Company's credit rating outlook to "BB" (with "Stable" outlook). China Chengxin Credit Ratings, United Ratings and China Lianhe Credit Rating each assigned "AAA" onshore credit ratings.
Establish CIFI commercial headquarter to develop featured business in core cities.
The Group is confident that it will exceed the full-year contracted sales target of RMB190 billion for 2019.

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 13 August 2019 - CIFI Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd. ("CIFI" or the "Group", HKEx stock code: 884), a leading real estate developer engaged in the property development and investment business in the first-, second- and robust third-tier cities in China, is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2019.

	Six months ended 30 June
	2019	2018	Year-on-year growth
Contracted sales
Contracted sales (RMB'million)	88,440	66,032	+33.9%
Contracted GFA (sq.m.)	5,088,200	4,331,800	+17.5%
Contracted ASP (RMB/sq.m.)	17,382	15,314	+13.5%

Selected financial information (RMB'million)
Recognized revenue	20,063	18,421
Profit for the period attributable to equity owners	3,194	3,419
Core net profit attributable to equity owners	2,870	2,446

Selected financial ratios
Gross profit margin (adjusted)	34.5%	33.7%	+0.8p.p
Core net profit margin	14.3%	13.3%	+1.0p.p
Earnings per share (basic), RMB cents	41	45
Core earnings per share (basic), RMB cents	37	32

	As at 30 Jun 2019	As at 31 Dec 2018
Selected balance sheet data (RMB'million)
Total assets	302,041	241,061
Bank balances and cash	54,300	44,618
Total indebtedness	94,768	77,865
Total equity	58,195	49,446
Equity attributable to equity owners	27,369	25,604
Net debt-to-equity ratio	69.5%	67.2%
Weighted average cost of indebtedness	5.9%	5.8%

Land bank (GFA, million sq.m.)
Land bank (GFA, sq.m.) at the end of period
- Total	46.8	41.2
- Attributable	23.4	20.7

The Group believes that China's real estate policies will remain tight in the second half of 2019 and intensity of the real estate control measures is likely to loosen dramatically. The current tight liquidity environment is expected to persist in the near future. As a result, China's overall real estate sales volume could continue to soften in the second half of 2019. In view of this, its proactive land-banking strategy last year and year-to-date in 2019 has effectively diversified the land bank to cover 63 cities in different geographical regions. The Group continues to emphasize on first and second-tier cities, and its land bank now also covers growing number of selective third-tier cities which have strong real estate demand and different policy cycles. Supply of saleable resources of the Group are estimated to amount to over RMB350 billion for the full year of 2019. The Group is confident that its massive and well diversified portfolio of saleable resources acquired at reasonable land costs will be defensive in the current tight real estate environment. The Group is confident that it will exceed the full-year contracted sales target for 2019. Mr. Lin Zhong, Chairman and Executive Director of the Group said, "As a large-scale national real estate developer, CIFI possesses balanced and quality saleable resources and prudent financing management, which have demonstrated our resilience against a challenging policy environment. During the process of market consolidation and concentration, the Group is also mindful on our brand recognition and product quality enhancement, while we are gaining size in terms of sales. With that, we can achieve balanced development and qualitative prosperity, hence generating decent returns to our shareholders."

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 selective third-tier cities in China. CIFI develops various types of properties, including residential, office and commercial complexes.

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

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