Operating Revenue Hit another Record High
Dividend per Share Significantly Increased by 15% Year-on-Year
Yuexiu Transport Infrastructure Limited (“Yuexiu Transport Infrastructure” or “Company”, stock code: 1052) today announces its 2018 interim results. For the six months ended 30 June 2018, the revenue of the Group achieved RMB1,371 million, up 14.2% year-on-year. Profit attributable to shareholders amounted to RMB 462 million. Basic earnings per share increased by 21.7% year-on-year to RMB0.2764. The Board resolved to declare an interim dividend of HKD0.15 per share for the first half of 2018, representing an increase of 15.4% year-on-year. It reflected the Group’s endeavor to create sustainable and sound returns for shareholders during its business development.
During the period, the projects invested and operated by the Group performed well overall. The core projects in Central Region delivered strong growth. Among all, the revenue of Weixu Expressway and Suiyuenan Expressway increased by 40.1% and 39.1% year-on-year respectively, while profits of both went up by more than 60%. The revenue and profit of Changzhu Expressway increased by 18.6% and 11.5% respectively, when compared with the first half of 2017. Despite the fact that GNSR Expressway was affected by the diversion impact due to the commencement of operation of GNTR during the period, the revenue and profit remained flat, when compared with the first half of 2017. However, through demonstrating the strategy of “Rise of Central China” in early years, the Group actively acquired high-quality assets and achieved a diversified regional layout for its invested projects. Mature projects in Central Region have gradually become the new profit growth drivers, which offset the impact brought by the temporary slower growth of GNSR Expressway.
The central provinces are the key areas of domestic industrial development, and play a pivotal role in leading a new round of manufacturing industry upgrading and cultivating the world’s leading manufacturing clusters, especially in the core Central China regions such as Wuhan and the Changzhutan city cluster, which have been approved as the “Made in China 2025” demonstration center. These regions are facing a new round of major development opportunities. On the other hand, the implementation of the “Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area” development plan, and China’s strategy of expanding new regions for economic development based on city clusters, will become the new driving force of the country’s economic growth and the new focal point connecting the country and the global economy. The Group will actively seize the investment opportunities in the above-mentioned regions, and accelerate to acquire high-quality highway assets, to strengthen and expand our core highway operation, and further enhance our asset size and profitability, which in turns create long-term, sustainable and reasonably stable returns for our shareholders.