New World Development Company Limited (17) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Investors, friends, good afternoon. Welcome to New World Development's 2022 FY interim results online analyst presentation. I am Christy from Investor Relations Department. I'm the moderator for this session. Let me introduce to you our management. New World Development Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Mr. -- Dr. Adrian Cheng; CFO of New World Development, Mr. Edward Lau. [Operator Instructions] Now let me invite Edward to go through with you the group's FY 2022 interim results. Edward, please?

Thank you, Christy. Thank you, investors. Looking back at our financial performance in the first half of FY 2022, we can say that we have strived to win amidst stability. Even though the pandemic is still serious, we're able to maintain our revenue on par. And in terms of underlying profit and overall profit, there are growth. We are able to expand revenue and cut costs and enhance operating efficiency. Our revenue was HKD 35.6 billion. Profit attributable to shareholders, HKD 1.4 billion, up 41% year-on-year. Underlying profit, HKD 3.9 billion, up 5% year-on-year. We continue to strictly control our CapEx and expenditure. Our net gearing was capped at low 40% level. As in the guidance we gave to the market previously for the whole year, we will keep it at this level. Our financing costs further decreased to 2.52%. Recurrent administrative expenses came down 5% year-on-year. As of the end of December, we have available capital resources of HKD 103 billion, including cash and bank deposit of HKD 52 billion and available bank credit HKD 51 billion. When our recurrent revenue increases, we will continue to maintain a sustainable and progressive dividend policy. For FY 2021, for the whole year, we distributed HKD 2.06 per share of dividend. And now our dividend yield is at 6.5%, which is very attractive. Given the current uncertain situation, in the first half of this fiscal year, we decided to maintain a dividend payment of HKD 0.56 per share; for the whole year, HKD 2.06 per share as a dividend floor. Our segment results achieved very good growth. For property development, it's up 52% year-on-year. Property investments, up 26% year-on-year. And for K11, there was a big growth year-on-year of 54%. So in the first half, our overall financial performance improved. We are very confident that for the whole year, most of the indicators, we'll be able to achieve our full year target given as a guidance to the market. For some segments, we will exceed last year's results. For the whole year underlying profit, the guidance was revised upwards, and we expect to see a high single-digit growth for this year instead of only mid- to high single digit. For property developments in Mainland China, in the past half year, the industry was affected by policy adjustments. As a result, gross margin came down. But then for our group in the first half, we were able to grow amidst the adverse environment. So for Mainland China, overall gross margin will show an improvement comparing with FY 2021. Now let's first talk about property development performance. In the first half, revenue recognition decreased. So overall total revenue was down 27% year-on-year. But for segment results, it's up 52% year-on-year, especially in Mainland China, there is a big growth of 87%. Just now I said already that the overall industry was under pressure. Our gross margin rose to 66%. This is because this year, there are more Greater Bay Area high-margin projects being recognized. So we started in 2016 to dig deep into the Greater Bay Area. Now 5 or 6 years have passed, and now we are in the harvest stage. Greater Bay Area segment results. Revenue recognition accounted for 70% of the total. Average gross margin, 70%. I would like to mention that in Mainland China, in the first half, underlying profit had reached 75% of the whole year target. So our Mainland development is very good, and it can also help the weaker economic environment in Hong Kong. Now property development in Hong Kong. We expect that in FY 2022 and 2023, every year in Hong Kong, there will be contracted sales of around HKD 10 billion. So 3 years added together will mean HKD 60 billion. As of the -- at the end of the first half of the fiscal year, we only spent 1.5 years to complete 75% of our target. And contribution of sales mainly came from Phases I, II, III of Pavilia Farm on top of Tai Wai Station and #888 888 Lai Chi Kok Road in Cheung Sha Wan, that's a commercial building project. And as of December 31, 2021, 70% of GFA was sold, contributing HKD 5.5 billion. In FY 2024, we expect that contracted sales in Hong Kong will go up to HKD 17 billion. In the first half of last year, when some developers had to sell their project to recover cash, we then took advantage of the opportunity to acquire good quality projects at no price. In mid-November, we formed a syndicate and we spent HKD 7.9 billion to acquire a Kai Tak runway project. The consideration was much lower than the HKD 8.9 billion, which was the tender price in 2018. We're able to save HKD 1 billion of land price and construction costs, and we're able to save time, that is the most important thing. We can start resale within 2 years. And within 3 years, we can do revenue recognition. Another project is Kai Tak Mansion in Kwun Tong. Within 1 year, we can start sales. So we will continue to use different channels. For example, acquisition of projects. We will speed up conversion of agricultural land to increase our land bank for property development. We will maintain a land bank of 4 million square feet. Then let me talk about development of agricultural land. We want to speed up conversion of agricultural land, and we have to mention Northern Metropolis. The government attaches much importance to this policy. So in the announced budget, well, HKD 100 billion was earmarked for infrastructure projects. And these will expedite the conversion of agricultural land. Now we have around 15 million square feet of agricultural land in the Northern Metropolis. Half of it, that is, 7.5 million square feet of land, where we are now deliberating with the government authority. And for that 7.5 million square feet, it can be converted into 15 million square feet of GFA. Now let me talk about our land planning application and lease -- and land exchange cases in the past few months. In January, we have the Sha Ha development project. It was approved by Town Planning Board. We will be able to offer 966 residential units. In mid-February, the Lands Department issued a practice note on Kwu Tung North and Fanling New Development Area. It covers our site in Wu Nga Lok Yeung and this will speed up our land exchange application. In mid-February, we spent HKD 185 million to buy a site in [ Lam Hau ], and the plot ratio for development will be 3.5x. In September to October last year, we submitted 3 rezoning applications -- planning applications to the Town Planning Board. They include Lin Barn Tsuen, Wing Kei Tsuen and Ngau Tam Mei, with GFA of more than 4 million square feet, and we can provide up to 8,000 units. So, so much about Hong Kong. Let me turn to Mainland China property development. The market is full of challenges. However, our contracted sales still reached RMB 9.3 billion. We completed the whole year target. The progress has been satisfactory. Sales contribution by the Greater Bay Area reached 87%. We will continue to make a wider layout in GBA. We have 50% land bank in GBA. In FY -- in the whole year 2022 and FY 2023, sales every year will be at around RMB 20 billion. You may ask, why is it that we can perform well during this adverse environment? Because we are digging deep into the GBA. We have a very exquisite brand effect. And then our finances are sound. We give confidence to buyers that we are able to complete the properties. Two successful cases: Guangzhou, Glory of Legend project. At the beginning, when we got the pre-sale certificate, the price ceiling allowed was RMB 50,000 per square meter. And in Q4, policies were relaxed, and we also capitalized on our strengths. And finally, we got the price ceiling allowed at RMB 68,000 and 20% higher than other properties in the district. In December, when the project was launched, in only 1 day, we achieved sales of RMB 1.2 billion. So this is very successful. There's another project in Guangzhou, Zengcheng. And then the selling price comparing with other projects in the same district was higher by 50%. You can see here that the Chinese government recently encouraged developers with sound finance to do more M&A, hoping to resolve crisis in the industry. Well, this policy is in line with our Quick Win development strategy. We have sound finances, and we are not subject to the 3 red line impact. We have adequate capital to acquire projects. Recently, in GBA, we acquired 3 projects at attractive price. They are in Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and they can expedite our sales and cash recovery. So let's talk about the Longgang 188 mega project. So within 3 years, we are able to convert the site into land bank. And for the other 2 projects, we can speed up pre-sale to within 1.5 years. These are nicely located geographically, and we have strong brand effect. We are confident to achieve a very good gross margin at 40% to 50%. In the future, through diversified channels, we will acquire land and we will be prudent to acquire good quality and inexpensive land and maintain high gross profit margin. In the second half of this year, we will sell more new projects in Mainland China. Here, you can see that originally, this project will be sold in Q4 2023. However, we enhanced our operating efficiency. So we have advanced the sale to Q2 this year. This is the comprehensive development project in Hangzhou. GFA reached 450,000 square meter. It is going to be a landmark in Hangzhou. For this project, it combines our branded residential, shopping mall, office and residential apartment and hotels. So this shows the diversity of our business. Besides, we help the government to conserve the Southern Song Dynasty historic building [indiscernible]. And we are able to preserve city memory and uniqueness. And this is in line with the state's policy about city industry integration. Now let me turn to property investment. We are still under the impact of the pandemic and also closing of the border. Our overall rental income rose 9%. Segment results was up 26% year-on-year. This is mainly because the whole series of K11 projects have performed in an outstanding way. For our Hong Kong property investment, it rose 34%. We are among very rare property developers that can achieve such growth. For K11 MUSEA segment results, grew almost 200%. In the budget just announced, the government is going to amend laws to prohibit the property owners to take legal actions against tenants who are not able to pay rent on time. In particular, the tenants in the retail and F&B industry. But you don't need to worry because this policy only defers rent payments. After the grace period, the tenants will still have to pay rent. Of course, concerning rental income in Hong Kong, there will be, to a certain extent, some impact. However, for our Mainland China property investment, we will see high growth. In Mainland China, for the whole year, rental income growth will be able to more than offset the loss arising from this particular measure. Besides, in Mainland China, regarding property development, we will continue to perform strongly, as I said just now. So we are very confident that for the whole year, our group's underlying profit will see a high single-digit growth. You may ask, why is it that K11 can perform so well in a very adverse market? That's because we do precise marketing in interacting with customers. And in a strategic way, we have enhanced our brand portfolio. We have attracted more footfall to boost K11 spending. In the first half of this fiscal year, our operating performance exceeded that of the overall retail market by a large margin. For Hong Kong K11, retail value rose 21%. And then the overall retail market was only up 8%. For Mainland China, K11 retail value was up 39%, but the overall market was only up 4%. We continued a high occupancy ratio. In Hong Kong, almost 100%. In Tier 1 city shopping malls in Mainland China, occupancy rate was 92%. I want to mention K11 MUSEA. Since August 2019 when it was opened till now, it has gone through a lot of challenges in the external environment. Still, it achieved outstanding performance. We benefited from the first half of the fiscal year. For sales of the shopping mall, it rose 20%; rental income, up 20%; and we enhanced operating efficiency. Operating profit grew significantly by 150% year-on-year. During Christmas and Chinese New Year, our sales was up 100% and 41% year-on-year, respectively. In June this year, we are going to renew tenancy or do rental reversion with 1/3 of the tenants. Negotiation has been very well underway. It is progressing well, and we are able to revise our rental income upward. This year is a milestone for 11 SKIES. In July, there will be 3 blocks of K11 ATELIER Grade A office buildings, which will be opened. Right now, occupancy rate has been satisfactory. Our goal is to achieve 65% occupancy in middle of this year. 11 SKIES has an area of 3.8 million square feet. It is an integrated project combining retail, F&B and indoor entertainment, and it covers 86 million population of the Greater Bay Area. Its geographic location is very good. So we are able to capture the limitless opportunities in GBA. In Hong Kong and Mainland China, we now operate 17 K11 projects. In the coming 4 years, there will be an additional 21; altogether, 38. Altogether, the area is 2.8 million square meters. For the K11 projects in Hong Kong and Mainland China, rental income in 2021 FY to 2026, we'll see a CAGR of at least 30%. So we have not changed our previous guidance. We continue to actively sell non-core assets to recover capital, to develop higher yield projects. And in the first half of this fiscal year, we have already sold HKD 3.8 billion. We are confident to achieve the yearly target of HKD 8 billion to HKD 10 billion. Apart from selling non-core assets, by means of active management, we maintained sound financial. This year, average financing cost is 2.52%. Comparing with last year, we came down by 0.4%. In the first half, net gearing was 41.3%. For the whole year, it will be kept at a low 40% ratio. We have more than HKD 100 billion adequate capital resources, including HKD 52 billion of cash. Regarding ESG, we will continue to increase the share of sustainable financing in our overall debt portfolio. In December, we issued a 5-year green loan of HKD 6 billion. And since 2018, our sustainable financing had reached or accumulated to HKD 25 billion. Since 2015, every year, we progressively increased our dividend payment to pay back to investors. As said at the beginning, right now, the macro environment is full of uncertainty. In the first half of this fiscal year, we still maintained a dividend payment of HKD 0.56 per share. In December last year, our majority shareholder, Chow Tai Fook, spent almost HKD 50 million in the market to buy 1.62 million shares of New World Development. This shows that the majority shareholder is highly confident in our prospects. Our group ESG. In December last year, we announced the first subsidized private housing project in Hong Kong. We are going to sell quality residential project at cost. We will donate a site in western New Territories to build the units. These are brand-new, quality, affordable units. And they would cost, so the price will be lower than market price by around -- well, it will be 50% to 60% of market price. And we will introduce a progressive payment model to assist young buyers to purchase homes. So we hope to be the first to affect a demonstration effect to -- we hope to encourage Hong Kong enterprises to join us to solve Hong Kong housing problem, to create similar projects to contribute to society. The fifth wave of the pandemic is serious. We are the first developer taking the lead to fight the pandemic. Altogether, we introduced 10 measures. In the past week, the weather was cold and rainy. Our colleagues have been working hard. They use different channels to find 200 heaters. And in the past few days, they were sent to different hospitals, testing center and housing developments closed for mandatory testing. And this week, we will send out 300,000 rapid test kits to [ grassroots ]. And then in San Po Kong, in Pentahotel, we will lend out 700 hotel rooms as community quarantine facilities. And in North Fanling, we will make available 400,000 square feet of land to build mobile cabin hospital. A few years ago -- a few days ago, construction started, and this is a formed land with existing water supply and drainage facility. There is access road, so construction is easier. Starting today, we will donate 10,000 oximeters to those patients who have been confirmed but not hospitalized yet. And we will donate 70,000 protective clothings to frontline health care workers. And Gleneagles Hospital is providing free video consultation service. And then our insurance arm is offering insurance protection to 800 drivers who are participating in the anti-epidemic work. And we have donated 10,000 telephone cards to grassroots students. And through cable TV in New World shopping malls and residential developments, we keep on broadcasting anti-epidemic news. We'd like to thank all health care workers on behalf of New World Development because they had really a hard time. We need to thank them for helping Hong Kong. Then our ESG performance. In 2019, we're incorporated into the Dow Jones Sustainability Development Asia Pacific Index, and we keep on improving in other international ESG indices. Now we are trying to achieve our 2030 vision. And comparing with the benchmark in 2015 FY, in 2022 FY first half, our energy intensity was down 13%. And then carbon emission intensity was also down 25%. In November 2021, we launched in the market the first shared value leasing scheme. So when tenants reach certain sustainability indicator -- when tenants reach certain sustainability indicator or target, for example, energy conservation efficiency, the tenants can earn K Dollar. So this is to reward them for the hard work in energy conservation and waste management. In 2021, our ESG measures have helped us win 40 enterprise and construction-related sustainability awards. And for the second year, we get the highest honor, the Jade Award, in the area of environment, social and -- in the ESG area. In first half 2022, in some pilot points, we implemented the climate resilience design guidelines by enhancing ESG, climate and supply chain work. We enhanced our corporate risk management framework. In 2021, we became the third in Asia to put in place a science-based emission reduction target, 1.5 C scenario, and the target is now being verified. And we plan that in 2030/'31 FY or before, we'll be able to complete this plan. And in the Greater China Area, for all rental properties, where they will use 100% renewable energy and designs-based emission reduction targets. Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, in line with the Hong Kong SARG's target. And then starting FY 2019, we were the first to adopt the TCFD reporting framework. Thank you. That's all in my presentation.

Thank you, Edward. It is now time for Q&A. You can send in your written questions via the webcast platform, and then we will read out your questions. In the past year, for the Mainland property market, they have gone through the transformation and central government has introduced a lot of different measures. Concerning your development target and profit, has there been impact?

In the past year, Mainland government put in place 3 red lines. So they asked the highly leveraged property enterprises to do deleveraging and some property developers focused on achieving quantity and more business. So they are subject to big impact. For companies like us, which are not subject to the 3 red line impact, we have a lot of opportunities. Our segment results rose 87% and GP margin rose to 66%. We could take the opportunity to acquire good projects at low cost. And this can help us achieve our Quick Win strategy. All along, New World has adhered to high-quality principle, and we work on our ecosystem as a selling point, and we are well received by Mainland buyers. If you look at GBA projects, our average selling price compared with other projects is 20% to 50% higher. And then the Mainland government relaxed some household registration rule in some places including, for example, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. So personal mortgage, loan restrictions and price ceiling order is being relaxed. So this can boost demand in the market. So since we dig deep into GBA, we can benefit. 87% of our sales came from GBA. This year, in Mainland China, for the whole year, sales target is RMB 20 billion. We have already achieved half. So we are confident to achieve the target for the whole year this year.

Okay. Second question, about the fifth wave of the pandemic. The pandemic has led to a downturn in the Hong Kong property market. Some developers deferred property project launch. As a result, property price -- secondary property price is affected. How do you see the trend in the property market? And concerning property mortgage, property price limit increase, what will be the impact on the housing market?

The fifth wave of the pandemic does affect the property market. And a lot of uncertainties were brought to our society. And because of social distancing restriction, we know that property construction activities have decreased. So in Q1, Q2 this year, turnover transaction volume will decrease. We have been under the pandemic for more than 2 years. In the past, while property market has been stable, according to government statistics in the first half, pricing index has risen 3.3%. So there is still strong rigid demand, such as demand from occupiers. After the pandemic, yes, rigid demand has deferred but then they will come back and increase purchase. As regards interest hike, we believe that there will be more psychological impact than real impact because when the pandemic subsides, the pented up purchasing power will be released soon. You asked about the relaxation in mortgage insurance policy. Well, this can help the low-priced property buyers because they have less pressure in paying down payments. And so more Hong Kong public can be encouraged to buy properties and change properties. This can boost the property market, overall speaking. Regarding the subsequent Hong Kong property market prospect, we are optimistic. In the first half, property price will be stable. When the pandemic subsides, in the second half, we expect a 5% to 6% increase. For low-price properties, well, they would benefit more. They would outperform the market.

Okay. Third question. As the pandemic disrupted your property sales plan this year, can you tell us your sales target this year?

We plan that for this year, we will launch 3 Kai Tak [ collaboration ] project in phases. These projects will provide 3,300 units. And then after that, we will launch the Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong South project, on top of the MTR. And total GFA will exceed 630,000 square feet. As regards timing of launch, we will make plans according to changes in the market. Within this FY, our sales target in Hong Kong is HKD 10 billion. We have achieved quite good results so far, and we are confident that we can achieve the result for the whole year.

Last year, in Q4, in Hong Kong and Mainland China, acquisition projects, you are quite active. So in the Mainland property market, there is now consolidation. Will the group take this opportunity to do more in M&A? Now in 2022, how much capital will you allocate to these projects?

The central government, as such, is now encourages developers with sound finance to do more M&A. And this is in line with our Quick Win development strategy. In GBA, we acquired 3 projects in Shenzhen and Guangzhou GBA, key cities. So we can increase our land bank by doing that. Besides, we can upgrade the overall GBA development. We acquired these 3 projects at very attractive price and we have accelerated revenue recognition. These are examples of our Quick Win. In Hong Kong, in November last year, we formed a syndicate. And we spent HKD 7.95 billion to successfully acquire the #4 sites in Area 40 of Kai Tak. And the consideration was lower than the tender price of HKD 8.9 billion, and we have saved almost HKD 1 billion. The foundation has been formed, and we are able to save construction costs as well. The most important thing is that we can save time. We expect that in Q4 of 2023, we can start pre-sale. And then within around a year or so, there can be revenue recognition. We will put aside HKD 20 billion to do acquisition. We will seize the time and we'll focus on GBA and Hong Kong. We'll pay attention to good locations that's [indiscernible] those where we can start construction and sale soon. And then we will continue our Quick Win strategy.

Okay. Next question, dividend. In the future, will the group adjust your dividend plan? Or are you going to pay back capital to shareholders?

The external environment is full of challenges. However, we still maintain a sustainable and progressive dividend policy and strategy. Now our dividend yield is 6.4%, which is very attractive. And given so much uncertainty now, in the first half of the fiscal year, we decided to keep the dividend at HKD 0.56 per share. For the whole year, the dividend flow of HKD 2.06 per share will be capped. In the past 2 years, we said that New World will maintain a sustainable and progressive dividend payment. And based on our underlying profits, we will keep a sustainable and progressive dividend payout. It won't be affected by external environment. Apart from dividend, we will use other ways to pay back to shareholders, for example, by buying the shares to enhance the return on investment. In December, Chow Tai Fook, our majority shareholder, spent HKD 50 million in the market to buy 1.62 million shares of New World Development. This shows that the majority shareholder has confidence in us.

In FY 2022, what is your result guidance in Hong Kong and Mainland China for those -- for the amounts pre-sold, not recognized yet, how much is it?

Can you hear me?

Yes, Adrian.

Yes, I'm Adrian. For our core underlying process, we expect that it will see a high single-digit growth. In Hong Kong, in 2022, second half, sold but not recognized, HKD 6.1 billion; in 2023, HKD 24.81 billion. In Mainland China, in 2022 FY second half, sold but unrecognized, RMB 3.43 billion; in 2023 FY, RMB 5.34 billion.

Next question. Concerning this year Mainland China economy and retail market outlook, what are your views in the future in Mainland China? Will there be some large projects that you can share?

I believe that the Chinese economy this year will be -- we are prudently optimistic. Overall speaking, it will be positive. For K11 and Mainland sales, well, the locations that we have picked are good, in Shanghai, in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and so on. So in Mainland China, there are Tier 2, 3 cities under pressure, but for Tier 1 cities, especially in Shanghai and Greater Bay Area, well, the performance is good. So this year, we will focus on the Hangzhou, Wangjiang, Xinchang; a 460,000 square meter GFA. And then K11, K11 ATELIER, Grade A office, K11 ARTUS, Rosewood Hotel and some heritage preservation project in Hangzhou. So in Q2 this year, in May or June, we will launch the sale of our Hangzhou project. And there will be revenue of RMB 8 billion, that's an estimate. We focus on GBA in the short run. Well, we talked about the 3 Quick Win; Shenzhen, Longgang and then 1.5 years later, there will be redevelopment projects in Shenzhen and Hangzhou. So we hope that pre-sale can start in 1.5 years and revenue can be booked within 3 years. Those are the projects that we will focus on.

Okay. Next question. The fifth wave of the pandemic dealt a heavy blow to the F&B and retail industry. The government has introduced some measures that for some industry, the tenants can defer rent payment by 3 months. So regarding K11, in terms of sales and rental, will there be impact? And how will you respond?