china everbright limited announces 2015 interim results | 光大控股-九游会登录

results highlights (hk$ million)	1 january to 30 june 2015	1 january to 30 june 2014	change
operating income	1,171	777	51%
- management fee income	119	65	83%
- consultancy fee income	27	18	50%
- interest income	297	219	36%
- dividend income	496	481	3%
other net income	1,197	955	25%
profit attributable to equity shareholders	3,226	1,152	180%
earnings per share (hk$)	1.914	0.68	181%
interim dividend per share (hk$)	0.25	0.15	67%

china everbright limited (“everbright”, stock code: 165.hk) today announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 june 2015.

during the reporting period, everbright conducted a thorough review and optimisation of its business development strategy and systems, dividing its hong kong business into the fund management business and the principal investment business. everbright also enhanced its management structure across the board to lay down a clearer framework that will further promote business growth.
 
for the first half of 2015, everbright posted an operating income of hk$1.171 billion, which was 51% higher compared to the same period of last year. profit attributable to equity shareholders was hk$3.226 billion, representing an increase of 180%; earnings per share were hk$1.914, up 181%; after-tax profit from the hong kong business grew 110% to hk$776 million, compared to the same period of last year; the fund management business posted a pre-tax profit of hk$1.03 billion, up 78.8%; the principal investment business generated pre-tax profit of hk$577 million, up 377% compared to the same period of last year; everbright’s share of everbright securities’ profit contribution amounted to hk$2.033 billion, representing an increase of 1,147%; china everbright bank contributed a dividend income after tax of hk$329 million, up 4%; total equity attributable to the equity shareholders of everbright amounted to hk$40.4 billion, representing an increase of 15% compared to end of 2014.
 
the board of directors has resolved to declare an interim dividend of hk$0.25 per share for the six months ended 30 june 2015 (1h 2014: hk$0.15 per share), up 67% from the same period of last year.

business review
 
fund management business
 
everbright’s fund management business includes primary market funds, secondary market funds, mezzanine funds and everbright prestige capital asset management company (“everbright prestige”), providing investors from asia-pacific, europe and the us with a diversified range of services.
 
as of 30 june 2015, everbright’s fund management business managed 30 funds (excluding non-actively managed funds raised through different channels for other external institutions). it had a total of 71 post-investment projects, 16 of which were listed in different stock markets around the world. everbright’s total fundraising scale rose to hk$51.7 billion, an increase of 2.8% from 31 december 2014.
 
in recent years, everbright’s fund management business has expanded overseas from mainland china; in terms of asset chain, it has grown from traditional equity investment to include sector funds such as professional healthcare and real estate, which are industries that require a thorough understanding of the sector, thereby providing more established products.
 
during the reporting period, income from the fund management business was hk$1.13 billion, representing an increase of 30%. the fund management business realised a pre-tax profit of hk$1.03 billion, representing an increase of 78.8%. income from fund management and performance fees accounted for hk$92 million, representing an increase of 210% compared with the same period of last year. investment projects were exited on a selective basis when market conditions were favourable during the first half of 2015, recording a capital gain of hk$1.03 billion, up hk$1.02 billion compared to the same period of last year.
 

pre-tax profit/ (loss) from fund management business (by business segment)	first half of 2015  (hk$ million)	first half of 2014  (hk$ million)	change
primary market funds	820	591	39%
secondary market funds	181	(29)	not applicable
mezzanine funds	17	14	21%
everbright prestige	12	0.12	9,900%

in the list compiled by china’s zero2ipo research in june 2015, everbright, on the strength of its fund management business’ strong performance in the first half of 2015, ranked fifth among “china’s institutional limited partners top 10” in 2014, after major state-owned financial institutions such as the national council for social security fund and picc property and casualty company limited. everbright’s eba investments, a primary market sector focus fund, ranked first in the “2015 top 10 funds in terms of comprehensive strength among the china real estate funds”.

principal investment business
 
in addition to devoting efforts to external fundraising, everbright also optimised the use of its own capital through various investment methods, using equity, bonds and derivatives, in support of its fund investment and management business. the principal investment business remains a key driver of the everbright’s growth across various business lines.
 
during the reporting period, everbright’s principal investment business managed hk$12.8 billion. compared to the same period of last year, it achieved a pre-tax profit of hk$577 million, up 377%; interest income amounted to hk$254 million, up 67.8%; dividend income amounted to hk$77 million, up hk$76 million; capital gain realised was hk$205 million, up 93.8%.
 
everbright’s principal investment business is committed to the following philosophy: (1) everbright’s own capital is used to support investment teams at the growth stage and to incubate quality private equity products, followed by external fundraising after the investment teams had fully developed; (2) everbright strives to create positive synergies between its fund management and capital operations, directly investing or co-investing in projects with a competitive edge in their industry; (3) through reasonable equity investments, everbright aims to participate in and nurture financial institutions that have the potential for long-term development, and which provide everbright with good return on investment as well as business synergy. everbright seeks to consolidate and improve its operational capabilities so as to raise its overall income level; (4) everbright aims to enhance its capital efficiency and improve cash flow through a treasury or wealth management model.
 
everbright has completed a series of investments using its own capital, including a co-investment in jiangsu yuyue medical equipment & supply co., ltd with sequoia capital and highlight capital (managed by the medical and healthcare fund management team), equity participation in the singapore-listed chinese real estate developer ying li international real estate limited (managed by the real estate fund management team), and the acquisition of the majority shares of a us automotive testing systems company burke e. porter machinery company (bep) (managed by the m&a fund management team), and an investment in focus media holding limited (managed by the mezzanine funds management team).
 
china aircraft leasing group holdings limited (calgh), an investment of everbright’s own capital with a 35.6% stake, continued to grow. during the reporting period, based on the method of equity accounting, everbright’s share of calgh’s after-tax profit amounted to hk$40 million, representing an increase of 8.1% compared to the same period of last year. calgh delivered six airplanes in the first half of 2015, bringing its fleet size to 50 airplanes. it also successfully expanded into the international market by entering into agreements with new clients such as air macau and pegasus airlines, after air india. at the same time, calgh concluded a memorandum on strengthening cooperation with the administration committee of tianjin dongjiang free trade port zone, which is expected to lead to the delivery of 40 airplanes over the next four years.
 
strategy and outlook
 
the global economy is expected to continue to face imbalance in the second half of 2015. as for the chinese economy, investment stability is a critical factor in determining whether economic growth can experience a meaningful rebound in the second half. based on the current situation, the liquidity generated by a monetary easing policy has stayed in the financial market, with limited effect in terms of driving the real economy.
 
operating within such a complex macro environment, everbright will continue to develop its cross-border asset management operations with its abundant capital. primary market funds, secondary market funds and mezzanine funds will continue to raise capital for new funds and attract more investors from new sectors. investment in the secondary market business will continue to promote a greater variety of investment portfolios. some listed shares with fair valuation will be disposed of when the right opportunities arise, in order to realise good, sustainable investment returns. everbright will also optimise the development of a unified platform for fundraising, customer relations and integrated management.
 
chen shuang, executive director and chief executive officer of everbright, said, “we conducted a thorough optimisation of our business development strategy and systems, laying a clearer management framework and a more solid foundation for our future development. as the company’s operations across all segments become more established, everbright is expected to continue posting excellent returns. despite the continued complexity of the macro-economic environment, we are very confident in our growth prospects for the second half of 2015.”
   
 photo:

 senior management of china everbright limited announced its 2015 interim results.
(from left) mr richard tang, executive director & chieg financial offier, mr chen shuang, executive director & chief executive officer and mr frederick tsang, cief risk officer