Yuexiu Transport records profit of RMB314 million for 1H2024, and pays HK$0.12 in interim dividend per share at payout ratio of nearly 60%

Results highlights:
Removing ice on roads to ensure smooth passage, thus narrowing loss and increasing revenue

• Proactively coping with extreme weather by effectively preventing traffic congestion on roads, thus minimizing loss of toll revenue.
• Having proactively planned ahead, Han’e Expressway successfully managed the traffic diverted due to the reconstruction and expansion of Wuhuang Expressway. As a result, its toll revenue saw a year-on-year increase of over 100%.

Implementing diverse measures to effectively reduce costs

• Consistently optimizing debt structure by optimizing the weighted average financing rate and extending debt duration.
• Sound financial position enables long-term, sustainable development.

GNSR Expressway reconstruction and expansion project (R&E Project) has entered a new phase

• The GNSR Expressway R&E Project has obtained approval for land and construction permit from relevant authorities. Construction works were in full swing.
• The R&E Project can bolster the Group’s most important revenue-generating asset, and strengthen its premium asset in the Greater Bay Area, thereby helping to sustain the project’s operation.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 August 2024 – Yuexiu Transport (01052.HK) announced 2024 interim results and recorded revenue of RMB1,827 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 5.6%. Profit attributable to shareholders was RMB314 million. The decrease in profit attributable to shareholders during the Period was due to adverse factors such as extreme weather conditions caused by snow and ice, an increase in toll-free holidays, and the expiration of the toll collection right for the Northern Ring Road.

The Company remains committed to a stable dividend policy, actively rewarding shareholders and sharing its development success with them. The Board has recommended the payment of an interim dividend for 2024 of HK$0.12 per share, equivalent to an interim payout ratio of 58.5%.

Removing ice on roads to ensure smooth passage, thus narrowing loss and increasing revenue
In the first half of 2024, extreme snow and icy weather conditions significantly affected highway operations across Central and Eastern China. To combat these challenging conditions, the Group made an all-out effort and implemented a “Closure at Night, Opening in the Morning” operation strategy to minimize disruptions to traffic flow and ensure the safety of travelers. There were no instances of prolonged, large-scale congestion during the Period, effectively mitigating toll revenue losses. Despite the extreme weather conditions, the overall performance of the Group’s projects in Hunan and Hubei provinces outperformed the provincial average of highways during the Period.

Starting from 10 May, the Wuhuang Expressway, which runs parallel to the Han’e Expressway, underwent a 965-day closure for reconstruction and expansion. The Group proactively implemented measures to prevent traffic congestion and ensure smooth passage, enabling the Han’e Expressway to successfully manage the divseron of traffic from the Wuhuang Expressway. As a result, from 10 May to 30 June, the toll revenue of Han’e Expressway boasted a significant year-on-year increase of over 100%.

Optimizing financial structure through diverse measures
The Group continued to streamline its financial structure through diverse measures, and successfully optimized both financial costs and debt durations. In the first half of 2024, finance costs decreased by 12.2% year on year to RMB249 million, and the weighted average financing rate at the end of the Period aslo dropped by 0.32 percentage points compared to the end of 2023. The Group’s asset-liability ratio was 59.1%, down by 0.2 percentage points from the end of 2023. The Group’s debt duration was extended from 3.27 years at the end of 2023 to 3.88 years at the end of the Period.

GNSR Expressway R&E Project entering a new phase
On 29 April 2024, the land for the GNSR Expressway R&E Project was approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Later, on 20 June, the construction permit was granted by the Department of Transport of Guangdong Province. With all necessary pre-construction procedures completed, the construction of the R&E Project is currently in full swing, with overall progress meeting expectations.

The GNSR Expressway R&E Project will bolster the Group’s most important revenue-generating asset and is expected to extend the toll operating period of the GNSR Expressway, enabling the Group to continue to benefit from the development of the Greater Bay Area.

Under the guidance of the “3331” development strategy, Yuexiu Transport is poised to strengthen its presence as a transport infrastructure asset management company
With strong roots in the Greater Bay Area and Central China, and benefiting from other developing areas poised to continued urbanization and industrialization, the Group will continue to refine its integrated business strategy of “investment, financing, operation, and divestment”. By establishing an incubation platform to secure quality assets and leveraging the domestic infrastructure REITs platform, the Group aims to dynamically adjust and continuously optimize its asset portfolio through the synergistic interaction among the incubation platform, infrastructure REITs platform and listed company platform, so as to create greater value for shareholders.

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