(Hong Kong, 19 March 2014) The Board of Directors ("the Board") of Shenzhen Expressway Company Limited (“Shenzhen Expressway ", or the “Company”; Stock Code: 548.HK) is pleased to announce the results of the Company and its subsidiaries (collectively the “Group”) for the year ended 31 December 2013 ("the Year" or “FY2013”).
Shenzhen Expressway recorded revenue of approximately RMB3.28 billion in 2013. Net profit was RMB720 million and the earnings per share was RMB0.33. The Board of Directors proposed a final dividend of RMB0.16 per share (tax inclusive), which is 48.5% of the earning per share.
In 2013, the negative impact of the industry policy persisted and extended to affect the entire year. However, benefited from the combination of such factors as improvement in road networks, implementation of traffic diversion measures or traffic control measures in other roads, as well as organic growth of the traffic volume, most of the Group’s projects recorded a stable increase in traffic volume and toll revenue, Of which the average daily toll revenue of Qinglian Expressway, Nanguang Expressway, Yanba Expressway and Nanjing Third Bridge recorded a YOY increased of 33.4%, 25.2%, 14.7% and 30.7% respectively. Mainly due to the negative influence of the industry policy or the traffic diversion of the paralleled road,the average daily toll revenue of Meiguan Expressway, Jihe West and Wuhuang Expressway recorded a YOY decrease of 8.3%, 2.9% and 11.1% respectively.
In 2013, the Group recorded toll revenue of approximately RMB2.9 billion, which represented a YOY growth of 6.3%. The growth mainly attributes to the toll revenue increase of Qinglian Expressway, Nanguang Expressway and Yanba Expressway. Cost of traffic services recorded a YOY increase of 8.3% to RMB1.41 billion during the year. The increase was attributable to the corresponding increase in the cost of depreciation and amortization of the toll highways as a result of the growth in traffic volume and the increase in the employee expenses as a result of the increased number of toll collection staff and the general increase in the payment standard of salaries. On the other hand, there was a YOY decrease in the maintenance expense of the Group’s highways for the Reporting Period as the special maintenance expense for Qinglian Class 2 Road decreased YOY and the actual maintenance expense for Jihe East was lower than the budgeted amount. Additionally, the toll revenue of the investee companies generally kept growing. Meanwhile, the gross profit margin of some projects such as Yangmao Expressway and Nanjing Third Bridge increased as their traffic volumes improved. Also, the borrowing scale and financial costs of certain companies of the Group declined. As such, the Group’s investment income achieved decent growth and increased by RMB57 million as compared with the previous year. In general, although the adjustment in the industry policy had brought relatively substantial negative effects on the Group’s 2013 operating results, the revenue and profit of the Group’s toll highway business recorded a YOY growth benefited from the steadily progress of the economy, improvement of road network within the region and the measures implemented by the Company to increase revenue and reduce costs. Moreover, the entrusted construction management business developed steadily and contributed additional profit, sending the Group’s net profit for 2013 to grow modestly by approximately 5.1% year on year.
During the year, external financial conditions became more volatile. The Company has made a financing and fund arrangement in advance and repaid due medium-term notes and corporate bonds amounted to RMB2.2 billion on time. Meanwhile, the Company raised the efficiency of the Group’s use of capital and lower the consolidated capital costs by actively pursuing the best financing condition and strengthening the overall planning of the Group’s internal capital, thus effectively securing the financial safety of the Group. During the reporting period, the Company’s composite borrowing costs amounted to 5.8%, basically flat with that of last year. In the end of this year, the Company’s total borrowings decreased, reducing the gearing ratio correspondingly; the overall financial costs were under effective control with a YOY decrease of approximately 6.5%.
The management indicates that, in 2014, the Company, by adhering to practical work style, careful calculation and strict budgeting as well as keeping expenditures to the income, will continue to faithfully boost operations and management, pay adequate attention to important tasks and key factors, in order to fully accomplish the targeted annual objective. At the same time, the Company will officially launch the research and decision-making work for a new round of development strategy, further study development strategies and business modes inside and outside of the industry, to define the future development direction as early as possible, plan development path and staged objectives, go with the tide and properly utilize resources, with a view to promote the Company’s balanced and sustainable development whilst continuously raising returns for our shareholders.
Appendix I: 2013 Annual Results Highlights
(Unit: RMB) |
2013 |
2012 |
Change |
Revenue |
3,279 million |
3,135 million |
+4.61% |
Of which: Toll revenue |
2,898 million |
2,726 million |
+6.31% |
Cost of Services |
1,526 million |
1,511 million |
+1.02% |
Of which: Cost of traffic services |
1,409 million |
1,302 million |
+8.28% |
Investment income |
186 million |
129 million |
+43.82% |
Financial expenses |
582 million |
622 million |
-6.45% |
Net profit attributable to owners of the Company |
720 million |
685 million |
+5.14% |
Earnings per share (RMB) |
0.330 |
0.314 |
+5.14% |
Appendix II: Basic Operating Statistics of Various Toll Highways during the Reporting Period
Toll Highway |
Percentage of interests held |
Percentage of revenue consolidated |
Average daily mixed traffic volume (number of vehicles in thousand) |
Average daily toll revenue (RMB’000) |
||||
2013 |
2012 |
Change |
2013 |
2012 |
Change |
|||
Guangdong Province - Shenzhen region: |
||||||||
Meiguan Expressway |
100% |
100% |
130 |
125 |
3.9% |
803 |
876 |
-8.3% |
Jihe East |
100% |
100% |
150 |
128 |
16.7% |
1,329 |
1,240 |
7.2% |
Jihe West |
100% |
100% |
123 |
107 |
15.7% |
1,048 |
1,080 |
-2.9% |
Yanba Expressway |
100% |
100% |
31 |
29 |
9.4% |
444 |
387 |
14.7% |
Yanpai Expressway |
100% |
100% |
50 |
41 |
21.0% |
541 |
514 |
5.3% |
Nanguang Expressway |
100% |
100% |
75 |
59 |
27.8% |
787 |
629 |
25.2% |
Shuiguan Expressway |
40% |
— |
155 |
138 |
12.4% |
1,298 |
1,205 |
7.7% |
Shuiguan Extension |
40% |
— |
39 |
29 |
33.4% |
176 |
155 |
13.2% |
Guangdong Province - other regions: |
||||||||
Qinglian Expressway |
76.37% |
100% |
28 |
23 |
24.2% |
1,948 |
1,461 |
33.4% |
Yangmao Expressway |
25% |
— |
31 |
27 |
16.7% |
1,469 |
1,326 |
10.8% |
Guangwu Project |
30% |
— |
27 |
25 |
7.3% |
719 |
681 |
5.5% |
Jiangzhong Project |
25% |
— |
89 |
91 |
-2.3% |
924 |
932 |
-0.8% |
GZ W2 Expressway |
25% |
— |
42 |
35 |
21.2% |
825 |
713 |
15.7% |
Other Provinces: |
||||||||
Wuhuang Expressway |
55% |
100% |
39 |
40 |
-1.4% |
1,040 |
1,170 |
-11.1% |
Changsha Road |
51% |
— |
14 |
13 |
6.1% |
144 |
119 |
20.2% |
Nanjing Third Bridge |
25% |
— |
29 |
25 |
17.8% |
1,169 |
895 |
30.7% |