CK Asset Holdings Limited ($1113)

Good afternoon. Welcome to the CK Asset Holdings Limited 2025 Annual Results Analyst Presentation. My name is Gerald on my right are two of my fellow ExCo members, Simon Man; and [indiscernible], our Chairman, Mr. Victor Li, will join us shortly for the Q&A session after the presentation. So we'll quickly go into it. 2025 results highlights. Revenue came to HKD 85.85 billion, up 19.9% and profit before investment property revaluation, $11.96 billion or HKD 3.42, up 2.7%. We recorded an IP revaluation deficit of HKD 1.11 billion last year or HKD 0.32 leading to a profit attributable to shareholders of HKD 10.85 billion or $3.10, down 20.3%. We declared a final dividend of HKD 1.39, making full year dividend HKD 1.78. Dividend per share, hence, up 2.3%, and over last year. Net book value per share also has risen by 2.3% to HKD 113.8. Turning to our principal activities. 76% of our revenue and 85% of our profit contribution are now recurring in nature. By geography, 31% of contribution from Hong Kong, 11% from the mainland and 58% from overseas, making us a very different company compared to other property companies in Hong Kong. Looking at divisional performances, property sales. So we recorded much stronger sales recognition this year -- last year, but margins were low due to provisions for properties for sale. Revenue came to HKD 2.5 billion 45 billion, up 105.3% profit contribution after provisions at HKD 2.7 billion, up 24%. Overall margin post provision was 13.4%. Major contribution came from three projects: the Greenwich Phase 2, Beijing, HKD 1.15 billion, the coast line Phase 1 and 2 in Hong Kong, HKD 1.1 billion and Regency Garden Phase 5b-15b2a from Shanghai, HKD 957 million. If you look at the Hong Kong contribution margin, it was 4.2% to mainland 27.8% and overseas HKD 11.6 million billion, making the post provision margin overall margin at 13.4%. The pre-provision overall margin was 24.9%. We still have $20.7 billion of contracted sales, which we have not yet recognized, the bulk of which will be recognized in 2026. Turning to our Property Rental division. The performance from last year was pretty resilient. From this division. As you can see, revenue dropped by only 1.9% to 6 -- just over HKD 6 billion and profit contribution dropped by 22% came to HKD 4.6 billion, and margin was pretty steady at 76.6%. Major contribution came from Cheng Kong Center, HKD 945 million; Hutchison Logistics Center, HKD 640 million and the [indiscernible] HKD 622 million. As you can see, overall revenue dropped by 1.9%, but it's not quite apple-to-apple because our social infrastructure income from Sweden and Germany were not recorded as part of social infrastructure income revenue here. they are actually recorded as part of our gain from financial instruments. And last year's results also included Shanghai Westgate development, which no longer -- the joint venture has ended this year. So if you take Shanghai West gate out from last year's results and include our Swedish and German portfolio into this year's results, actually the overall revenue would have gone up by 2.7%. In terms of contribution, as you can see, is a small decrease of 2.2%. So the increase of social infrastructure property contribution actually have successfully offset the challenges we have faced in the Hong Kong and mainland markets. In total, we have 22.4 million square feet of investment properties and recorded a revaluation deficit of close to $1.1 billion. And it mostly came from 3 assets, 181 retail commercial mall and CKC1 and CKC2. Hotel and service suite operation, very solid contribution in a pretty competitive market. HKD 4.6 billion of revenue, up 6% profit contribution. You see here it's up 0.4%. But last year, we actually had some written back provision. So if you take that out, we actually -- profit contribution would have gone up by 8.1% compared to last year. So very, very solid. That good performance was largely because of the improvement in the hotel occupancy compared to 2024 from 82% to 90%. So as you can see, both our hotel room occupancy and our average service suites occupancy were roughly around 90% last year. Property and project management extremely steady, $910 million revenue, $367 million, largely the same compared to last year and 40 -- a very healthy 40.3% contribution margin with over 248 million square feet under our management. So we have 2,500 roughly 2,500 pubs in the U.K., 1,500 under top company, what we call managed directly managed operated pubs about 1,000 under top partners division, what we call tenanted or lease or franchise pubs and 2 breweries, 1 in England, 1 and Scotia. Revenue went up by 7.4% to HKD 26.23 billion last year and operating before asset impairment went up by 9.1% to $1.9 billion. We recorded a HKD 1.6 billion of asset impairment largely due to the well-publicized, continued cost pressure in the U.K. and tough macro conditions. As a result, the profit contribution post impairment came to HKD 313 million, down 41.9%. These are our joint ventures together with our sister companies, within the infrastructure and utility asset operation division. And you can see their respective shareholding on the right. very healthy a 3.6% increase in profit contribution to HKD 8.6 billion. Contribution margin was 31.4%, and welcome to our Chairman, and two interesting points in terms of performance in thumb in water, a healthy contribution margin of 32% contribution of HKD 1.05 billion, which is up 29% from last year due to our very good price resets. As well as Dutch and Vero Energy HKD 119 million of contribution, up 61% from last year. due to the full recovery from our energy from waste operation post the reconstruction of redevelopment of our plants. We have -- in January, we completed the disposal of Eversholt U.K. rails, and we will be able to book a gain of HKD 670 million, which will be recognized this year.

Jerry, if I may. And just a comment on pubs. Earlier, you -- we keep calling it pub operation. And sometimes our shareholder may misunderstand as if the main business is the operation of the pub. Actually, it's two businesses. One is the operation and one is property. We haven't forgotten that we're mainly a property company. So we own most of the shops. So the asset impairment is mainly on the property, operation is growing. So 1 is a noncash, One is a cash and less separate between operation and shops. So I think Simon, correct me if I'm wrong -- but -- but I think the best way maybe in the future, we referred to it, we put in a name sort of pub and property or something like that. No, no, I'm not going to come up with the name, you should come up with the name, but something to reflect the fact that it's -- we're not renting the shops that we're the 1 the shops.

So that's right, 90% of our properties are actually freehold or extremely long 300 years or 900 years long leasehold. Yes. Next page. We I've also announced this proposed disposal of U.K. power network subject to closing conditions. If successful, approximately $8.4 billion of gain will be recorded this year as well as receiving $2.2 billion of cash upon closing. So I'll turn it over to Simon for the next few patients.

France, as of 31st December 2025, the group's interest in the fee listed real estate investment trust remain more or less the same. 3.4% in the [indiscernible], which owned and managed 11.8 million square feet of hotel and serviced suites, office and retail properties on the Mainland and 25.6% in the Fortune REIT, which only managed 3 million square feet of retail public in Hong Kong and in Singapore and 17.4% interest in the poster which own and manage 1.3 million square feet of office, retail and industrial public in Hong Kong. [indiscernible] is an associate so -- and we share a net rental profit of HKD 126 million for the year. Last year, it was HKD 48 million and received distribution of only HKD 7 million. during the year. For the fortune rate and post dividend, distribution received from the amounted to HKD 220 million this year and HKD 226 million last year and were recognized as investment income. So altogether, we see a total distribution of HKD 227 million from the 3 listed lease. For the endearing and maturity profile, at the end, the group's bank and other loans amounted to HKD 51.4 billion, a decrease of HKD 1.3 billion from last year. HKD 11.6 billion which repayable within 1 year, 34.6 billion within 2 to 5 years and HKD 5.2 billion beyond 5 years. Taking into account our bank balance and cash on hand of HKD 41.7 billion at the EMA, the group carry a net debt of only HKD 9.7 billion. The net debt to net total capital ratio was approximately 2.3% and the net debt to shareholders was 2.4%. And our credit rating from Moody's is A2 and from stable and a credit rating from Standard & Poor is stable. At the end, the group had a total land bank of 122 million square feet. 65 million square feet was held under development for sales. 22 million square feet was held for [indiscernible] and 9 million square feet was held for hotel and service operation. 26 million square feet was held for pub operation. For [indiscernible] Gold, 27 million square meters in Hong Kong 1 million square feet was on the mainland and 34 million square feet overseas, mainly in the United Kingdom. So that completes our presentation, Themis.

There's one more. So we've made very good progress on our commitment to sustainability. Last year, we have achieved 38% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emission from 2019 levels. And we are one of the early adopters of the storage new climate-related disclosure requirements and develop a transition plan with underpinned by 6 deep carbonization levels. And a few highlights here, both it, if you can read it, great -- we've acquired over 350,000 hectares of agricultural land in Australia for carbon sequestration, which is basically grazing. We achieved final Platinum rating for our new buildings. As well as acquisition of additional biogas capacity in the U.K. through EDL, one of the Infrastructure division and a number of awards we are pretty proud of. So that's the end of our presentation. Maybe let's go to our Q&A session, and thank you for sending in your questions. I will be reading out the questions and then our Chairman will be answering them or directing traffic and invite some of our members to answer these questions. Now before we answer your submitted questions, I'd like to invite the Chairman to share a few of his thoughts.

Yes. Thank you, Joe. I just checked on my mobile. Oil price is over HKD 115 already. So this is worrying. With the geopolitical environment, more volatile and unpredictable than ever. We feel quite fortunate that our conservative and diversified approach to investments has continued to serve our group well. We have a very resilient balance sheet and a broad mix of businesses, which focuses on delivering predictable cash flows. On this point, I think the market is fully aware that they use the word our DNA and the way we operate are quite different from other property companies in Hong Kong. At the same time, we recognize that there is very little visibility in the world right now. And there are no clear trends that are immune to disruptions. If the war in the Middle East continues for longer than what the market expects, inflation will go higher in every economy and it will be difficult for interest rates to come down. Because of this, we must be extremely cautious, even when we see good opportunities. And you certainly will not see us borrowing a lot of money to invest. We will focus on creating long-term value for our shareholders through becoming a better operator in every business that we are in as well as unlocking the underlying value of our businesses should opportunities arise. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman. The next question with respect to the announced sale or post sale of the U.K. power networks, could you please explain the rationale? And what will be the use of proceeds? And will there be a special dividend for shareholders.

But the main reason is we received an extremely attractive offer for this quality assets. And it will be wrong if we miss the opportunity to unlock the value excellent value for shareholders and realize an attractive return from businesses that we had built and transformed over the last 15, 16 years. The mere size of this transaction or consideration is incredibly significant to say the least. The capital returning to the group will open all total new opportunities, options for us going forward. not to mention, put our balance sheet in an even stronger position and a good watch it. As for special dividend, it's too early to make any decision when the transaction has not even been completed. Let's wait for the money to be received first. Thank you.

Thank you, gentlemen. [Foreign Language]. Last year, you said you were interested in pursuing Hong Kong opportunities but did not -- not many deals materialize last year. Why was that? And is Hong Kong development or land purchase, CKA's top priority or our overseas investments more attractive.

Well, we grow up in Hong Kong, and the city has a special place now heard. And we have always been keen on investing more in Hong Kong, be it in commercial, retail properties or land sites. But as I've said in different divisions of our group, we have no must-win mentality. [Foreign Language] the only focus on any acquisition opportunity is whether the return meets our minimum threshold and whether the risks are manageable. We will continue to pursue new opportunities while maintaining our financial discipline. Thank you.

Next question. What is your view on Hong Kong's property market? How does the recent market volume impact CKA's launch strategy, especially for Victoria blossom.

Transaction volumes have seen a solid improvement, owing to the improvement in market sentiment. But developers are still pricing in pricing in a prudent manner as inventory levels are still high. No one has a crystal ball, but recent numbers do seem to show that both residential and office markets are bottoming and improving, bearing unforeseeable circumstances, of course. As for Victoria blossom, our sales team will determine the timing for the launch of the project. as well as several other existing projects, and we have confidence in them.

Next question. Your overall development margins post provision was 13.4%. How should we think about your development margins -- that's a question for Simon.

Okay. Thank you. In general, all developers are still in the process of selling quite expensive inventory from the past. Although our inventory may be less expensive, the margins are not great. From time to time, especially when public markets are challenging, we will make provisions for projects as part of our conservative approach to manage our balance sheet, and we will continue to be conservative in this respect. For the year, development margins before provision for Hong Kong was 24.2%. And margins before provision for Mainland and oversea projects were 36.5% and 11.6%, respectively.

Thank you, Simon. Next question. What is your view on the government raising stamp duty for ultra luxury or luxurious units? How would that impact your high-end project like board road development?

Almost not much impact. The super luxury market is a small part of the overall residential market. So there should not be much impact to the overall sentiment. For the luxury bias, it is more about having them to find the right product in the market. We believe that our borrow development is certainly one of these unique projects, which offers both a sending view, the right address and the convenience located right in the heart of our city. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman. Your Mainland property sales remained quite slow last year. What will you do to drive sales on the mainland?

The main market is still somewhat subdued. So we are doing what we can to generate interest from not just Mainland buyers. But recently, we've got good encouragement from prospective buyers from Hong Kong who are interested to own property on the Mainland. So certainly, a lot more Hong Kong buyers buying in the Mainland, which is a good sign.

Next question is about the office market. The office market sentiment seems to be improving. Indeed, what is your current occupancy rate for CKC 2? And what is your strategy to further raise this?

This question was asked by the press earlier and answered by our fellow [ ExCo ] members. Let me quote his answer, we should offer a good perspective on this topic. The -- what you said is the sentiment in the office market definitely is continuing improving. And one thing to note about CKC is that it was the old Hughes House redevelopment. That's why our cash cost is actually very low. It should be the lowest among all new offices. So together with the strength of our balance sheet, we can afford to be more patient than others in the last few years when the market wasn't at a good place. Now that the market is bottom out, it may be the opportune time for our leasing team to market this space in the high-quality building that fully captures the view of the entire Victoria Harbor. Thank you. Are there plans to expand in your social infrastructure sector? And how has the German portfolio performed this question can only answer what you say?

Thank you, Chairman. I think our social infrastructure portfolio provides us with a very predictable inflation-linked annuity that is contracted for over 20 years and on effectively a triple net basis. So we're quite grateful that this income from these assets has largely been able to offset the challenges and impact we've seen in the Hong Kong office and retail sector in the last few years. We completed the acquisition of our German portfolio this year and the portfolio is performing as expected. They are more suitable opportunity with the right return profile, as the Chairman said, with about the mentality of must win. We would definitely want to do more in Germany, the U.K. as well as some other countries as well.

Thank you, [indiscernible]. Next question is about our hotel division, hotel. And our hotel and service apartment contribution was stable year-on-year. Any comment on that?

While the true industry recorded year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals, helped by various initiatives and events with the industry. We're confident in the strength of our division's market offer and positioning. The occupancy for both our short-stay hotels and extended, say, service suites remained about 90% last year, which is quite decent. A good thing to note is recently, I tried to make a booking for one of my friends arriving from overseas, and I was told that the hotel I want is full. So I happily have to move by friend to another hotel. So the GM want to apologize. We say, I said, no, no, no, no. This is the happiest message. You can give me.

Thank you, Chairman. Next question is about the pub division. The Pulp division recorded a drop in earnings post impairment. Could you explain the reasons behind the impairment? And how do you plan to manage coming cost pressures?

But Gerald, you have the better to answer this question, but I'm going to change your question. We should really call it the property and pub division or something like that or a property, whatever you come up with. So let's separate impairment on property versus pub operation.

So the top state division, Greene King recorded a pre-impairment earnings growth -- so at the operating level or an increase of 9.1% as the team introduced various ways to drive sales and mitigate cost inflation challenges. However, the overall outlook of the economy, coupled with the effects of the U.K. government budget announced in November last year. It obviously impacted the auditors outlook on the valuation of top properties leading to an impairment recorded in 2025. So as can said, operating -- at the operating level, I think improved, we were able to improve results a little bit at the asset level because of outlook, there was an impairment.

Sorry, Chuck. Also this is a very funny accounting. On shop set of property that performs better than our cost, you never write it up. But on shops that is worse than your budget or what is on books, you write down. So it's a one-way street on this. This is -- this is not the way I would use as management account. But this is the public account for legal reporting.

But I don't think it reflects the correct situation. So you might have seen some news reports from yesterday in the U.K, we are investing in various initiatives to drive sales growth, improve operational efficiency and mitigate further cost headwinds. It's not easy for the team, but we are hopeful that better days are ahead of that.

I know I got a call one day from both Frank and Kenning. They are in London coming up and said, Victor congratulations. I said why? We can't even get a seat in your pup. It's so full without standing on the street. And they want to sit also they can they left to another topic.

I think it's part of the culture to actually stand...

You can stand and drink. I don't think you can stand and eat. That's where I draw the line.

Okay. I think this will be the last question. Including in your final dividend of HKD 1.39 per share, full year dividend has increased by 2.3% year-over-year. How should we look at CPA dividend trend going forward? Will you consider correlating dividend to your recurrent income. Alternatively, will you be doing share buyback.

Will continue to link dividend payout to overall financial results and outlook. Our full year dividend is consistent with that stated approach. As for buyback of stocks, this is one of the ways to deliver long-term value to shareholders will continue to be opportunistic in our approach on this front. Thank you.

Thank you, Chairman. So this marks the end of our analyst presentation. I think given the world in term, I think in thermal, I think we're in a good place. Thank you for joining us, and we will see you next time.