During the Year, the resurgent Covid-19 pandemic seriously affected China's economic development. Meanwhile, the country's property sector was bottoming out but still mired in a difficult operating environment — both investment and sales were in the doldrums as liquidity crises broke out among property firms. All this posed severe challenges to the Group.
For 2022, the Group's revenue was approximately RMB2.606 billion; gross profit was approximately RMB556 million; gross profit margin was 21.3%; the core net profit attributable to owners of the parent company amounted to approximately RMB143.3 million. The Board recommended a final dividend of 2.2 RMB cents per ordinary share for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Steady development in the two core businesses of property management services and community value-added services
Times Neighborhood persevered with its core strategy of "4321" for development despite the difficulties in the business environment. It continued to further develop the markets of the city clusters in the four core regions of mainland China with its focus on areas with fast economic growth. In 2022, the business scale of the Group's property management services grew steadily, with higher concentration of property management projects in target areas. As at 31 December 2022, the total contracted gross floor area (the "GFA") for property management service amounted to approximately 134.1 million sq.m., representing an increase of approximately 1.6% compared with the approximately 132.0 million sq.m. as at 31 December 2021. During the Year, Times Neighborhood continued to build up its capability of expanding business independently and the contracted area for property management that it secured from third parties was approximately 19.85 million sq.m. Meanwhile, the property management projects undertaken by the Group in first- and second-tier cities accounted for 75.0% of the total GFA under the Group's management. As at 31 December 2022, the Group was undertaking a total of 956 property management projects under contracts in 88 cities (excluding 27 projects of urban public services), and the GFA of properties under the Group's management totalled approximately 119 million sq.m. In addition, the Group had a total of 108 contracted property management projects which had not yet been handed over to the Group for management, with undelivered GFA of approximately 15.4 million sq.m. The GFA of properties under the Group's management continued to grow on the back of its good reputation for its quality services in the market,
In terms of its business presence in the markets for property management of various types of properties, the Group integrated brand resources to enable its businesses of property management services for three main types of properties (residential properties, industrial parks and public buildings) to develop in synergy. In its business of residential property management services, the Group consistently increased the density of its property management projects in core city clusters. In terms of the property management for industrial parks, the Group continued to deepen its cooperation with major property owners and started serving six new major property owners under contracts in the Year. In terms of the property management services to public buildings, the Group actively broadened the scope of service.
Through the "technology + service" platform for the whole life cycle, Times Neighborhood's community value-added services further tapped the market potential of the communities under its management. With its various matrices such as the Neighborhood Services (鄰里邦) APP and mini program, the Group carried out user management, improved user profiling, constantly upgraded its business development models and enriched the scope of its services. In the respect of its renovation business, the Group opened decoration brand image stores to connect offline and online scenarios of spending and facilitate the conversion of website traffic to customers. To actively cope with the downturn in the real estate market, it explored the possibilities of running its own business beyond the existing market. It has developed a number of high-performing shops for complete interior decoration and furnishing. The Group gained insights into the needs of property owners, gave full play to the advantages of property companies' proximity to property owners, began a business of community-based group buying and provided various paid home-based services. It also designed and provided service packages targeted at various scenarios of daily life to provide a rich selection of quality goods and lifestyle services for property owners and customers. During the Year, the revenue from the community value-added services was RMB378.6 million, and the gross profit margin was 32.9%.
Adhering to "longtermism" and forging ahead with the "4321" development strategy
As to the outlook of the market, the optimization of the government's anti-pandemic measures has created favourable conditions for a recovery in the economy and industries. The government's positive attitude and policy changes towards the property sector have also boosted the market's confidence in the development of the property management sector. It is against this backdrop that the property management sector, which is closely related to people's livelihood, can expect more opportunities for development. Meanwhile, property companies should also consistently improve the standard of professionalism and service quality while exploring the possibilities of finer market segments for services.
2023 will the year marked by China's economic recovery. The Group will seize opportunities by adhering to "longtermism" and pressing on with its strategy of "4321" for development to expand its business scale, further develop its value-added services and leverage technologies to enhance both the customer experience and the infrastructure for its internal operation. Under the "4321" development strategy, the Group will further develop the markets of the city clusters in the four key regions of the Greater Bay Area, Yangtze River Delta, Chengdu-Chongqing area and central China; build up its business presence in the markets for property management services to residential properties, industrial parks and public buildings; aim for growth according to its two "three-year plans" for the periods of 2019-2021 and 2022-2024; and build up a "technology + service" platform for the whole life cycle. The Group will work hard to reward property owners, shareholders, employees and business partners with the fruits of quality development.
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