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EQS-News / 15/03/2019 / 22:27 UTC+8
*Goldpac Group Announces* *2018 Annual Results*
*******
*Steady Revenues and Net Profit Growth*
*Platform and Service Segment Advanced Further, Revenues increased 20% YoY*
*Final and Special Dividend of HK 16 cents*
*Full Year Dividend of HK 20 cents, Dividend Payout Ratio Up **to **81.7**%*
*********
(15 March 2019, Hong Kong) Goldpac Group Limited ('Goldpac' or the 'Group',
stock code: 03315.HK) ,a leading Fintech company in China, today announced
the annual results for the year ended 31 December 2018.
As one of the earliest Fintech companies in China, the Group is committed to
empowering the business growth of financial institutions with innovative
technologies. The Group fully implemented its well-defined corporate
strategies and maintained a stable and sound growth in 2018. Both revenues
and net profit increased as compared with last year.
*Stable and Sound Development*
Despite various challenges, the implementation of the Group's well-defined
corporate strategies provided the Group with the continuous improvement of
business structure and healthy growth. In 2018, the revenues reached RMB
1,411 million and the net profit reached RMB175 million, representing an
increase of 0.7% and 6.2% respectively as compared with last year. The
EBITDA was recorded at RMB254 million, up 3.5% year-on-year. The basic and
diluted earnings per share were both RMB0.21.
During the year, the shift of growth drivers between the two business
segments gathered momentum. Benefiting from the increasing demands of
intelligent terminals' market, the Platform and Services business segment
made great strides with revenues of RMB301 million, increased 19.9% year on
year, and the revenue ratio of this segment rose by 3.4 ppts to 21.3%.
Though the growth of the Embedded Software and Secure Payment Products
segment slowed down due to an adverse impact from the market competition,
the Group still saw the considerable revenues high up to RMB 1,110 million.
The Group has distinguished itself with significant and differentiated
competitive advantages compared to its peers in the high-end and fashionable
products market.
Benefiting from the transformation of banks' retail business model,
favorable policies and the rapid growth in the consumer credit market, the
Group's credit card products and services maintained their momentum of
growth. Product upgrade strategies were fully implemented and the revenue
contribution from the high-end products consistently increased.
Firmly adhering to its core vision of technology-driven innovation and
development, the Group's R&D expenses kept consistent growth with a compound
annual growth rate of 19.0% over the past five years and reached RMB 114
million in 2018, up 4.4% year-on-year. R&D efforts were focused in the areas
of secure chips, solutions as well as A.I. self-service kiosks.
Owing to years of healthy development, the Group's asset size continues to
grow and maintains the sound cash flow. As at 31 December 2018, the net cash
available was RMB 1.57 billion, offering strong support to the Group's
strategic blueprints of innovative development, overseas expansion and the
construction of Zhuhai Fintech Center.
The dividend amount increased continuously with an annual compound growth
rate of over 40%. This demonstrates the Group's strong commitment to
rewarding shareholders, whilst ensuring strategic development. The dividend
policy for 2018 was stable. The Board proposed to declare a final dividend
of HK 10 cents and a special dividend of HK 6 cents per ordinary share. If
this proposal is approved by the shareholders of the Company at the
forthcoming annual general meeting, the total dividend paid during the year,
together with the interim dividend, will be HK 20 cents per ordinary share,
and the total dividend payout ratio for the year would be 81.7%. The total
dividends declared since the IPO is to reach HKD 723 million.
*Outlook 2019*
The Group will follow the trend regards to banking card products upgrade,
focus on high-end products and step up products innovation and portfolio
improvement, so as to strengthen its competitive advantages and enhance its
profitability.
The demand for A.I. self-service kiosks is growing rapidly across a wide
range of sectors including financial, social security, medical care, and
public services. The Group's proprietary A.I. self-service kiosks have been
chosen by several tenders for citizen card projects in China. Moreover,
these kiosks have been receiving strong attention in international markets
and are expected to become a new growth driver of the Group.
The rapid development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will
present new opportunities for the Group's growth. The Group is committed to
pursuing the integration and advancement of interconnectivity through
technology so that the transportation and social welfare systems can be
seamlessly connected and integrated within the Greater Bay Area. In the
future, the Group will make persistent efforts to advance interconnectivity
in various sectors including social security, welfare, and business travel.
The Group will surely benefit from the numerous opportunities presented by
the cross-border integration of the Greater Bay Area.
In 2019, underpinned by the development of the Greater Bay Area and
cooperation of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the Group's overseas market
expansion will be reaching out to more countries and regions around the
world. The Group will continue to create synergies with China UnionPay's
globalization and make advances in "Product + Service" total solutions to
penetrate into international sectors such as overseas governments,
transportation, entertainment, insurance, education, and property. The Group
will continue to strive for breakthroughs in oversea markets.
With the authorization of the Zhuhai municipal government, the Group has
officially commenced construction of Zhuhai Fintech Center. The aim is to
explore new horizons and eco-systems for Fintech innovation in the
Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It is anticipated to be
completed in 2020. The center is planned to be a catchment area for
innovative ideas, attract companies, capital, projects and talents so as to
contribute to the cross-border linkage and the opening-up of the Greater Bay
Area.
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Document title: Goldpac Group Announces 2018 Annual Results
15/03/2019 Dissemination of a Financial Press Release, transmitted by EQS
Group.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 15, 2019 10:28 ET (14:28 GMT)
