(28 March 2023 – Hong Kong) Realord Group Holdings Limited (the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”, stock code: 1196) is pleased to announce its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2022. Over the period, the Group recorded a total revenue of approximately HK$1,198.8 million, representing a year-on-year growth of 0.3%; Gross profit was HK$287.4 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 5.4%; profit for the Year and the profit attributable to shareholders of the company were  HK$605.1 million and HK$114million respectively. Earnings per share for the Year was HK 7.98 cent.

Business Review

The principal activities of the Group during the year included the Property Segment, the Financial Services Segment, the Environment Protection (EP) Segment, the Motor Vehicle Parts (MVP) Segment, the Commercial Printing Segment, the Department Store Segment, the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) Segment, and Others Segment.

The Property Segment

Properties investment, development and commercial operation have always been one of the main development strategies of the Group’s overall business deployment and development goals. The Group holds three investment property projects, namely Realord Villas and Zhangkengjing Property in Longhua District, and Realord Technology Park in Guangming District in Shenzhen, the PRC. The Group also holds proposed development project and properties under development namely Laiying Garden in Nanshan District and Qiankeng Property in Longhua District respectively in Shenzhen, the PRC. There are five property projects on hand as at 31 December 2022. There are five real estate projects in hand. Revenue from the property segment is mainly derived from rental income from the Group's investment properties. In 2022, the Group generated approximately HK$14.5 million in rental income. The number of tenants in the mall has increased to 45. The Phase II development plan of Realord Technology Park will start immediately after obtaining government approval. The redevelopment works of the Qiankeng Property will commence upon obtaining the permits from the relevant government authorities. The application for changing the land use of the Zhangkengjing property from industrial use to residential apartment and commercial use is still under review. The demolition works of Laying Garden's residential units and infrastructure have been completed and the reconstruction works are expected to commence shortly after obtaining the permits from the relevant government authorities. The Group will focus on five properties in hand, namely Qiankeng Property, Laying Garden, Realord Villa, Realord Technology Park and Zhangkengjing Property, so as to ensure that the Group is in a favorable position in this category.

The Financial Services Segment

The Financial Services Segment generated a revenue of approximately HK$126 million in FY2022. During the period, this segment recorded a segment profit of approximately HK$21.3 million. The financial services segment strives to provide customers with diversified and high-quality services in the primary and secondary markets. The interest income from margin financing continued to rise, driving the financial services segment to grow steadily amid the sluggish market conditions. In addition, the new mobile trading system brings customers a fast and stable trading experience and helps to enhance brand awareness. The financial services classification will continue to develop various investment products to meet market demand and provide customers with diversified high-quality services in the international capital market. At the same time, the financial services category is also actively preparing to launch dark pools and US stock trading systems, and expanding sales and business teams to match business development.

The EP Segment

 In FY2022, the demand for copper products in China increased significantly. The revenue of environmental protection category was approximately HK$705 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.8%. The environmental protection segment business is mainly operated in Japan, and its leased land in Osaka, Japan is approximately 19,609 square meters (4 plots). The group is still looking for alternatives, such as setting up additional operations in Kyushu, Japan, and finding new sources of metal scrap throughout Japan. The Group is also considering developing the European and American markets with sufficient funds to cope with the economic recovery after the COVID-19 epidemic, so as to maintain the growth of the environmental protection business.

The MVP Segment

The revenue of the MVP Segment recorded a revenue of approximately HK$141 million and a profit of approximately HK$5.7 million. The demand for motor vehicle parts was adversely affected during the year due to the lockdown policies in certain cities in China. In order to maintain sustainable business growth, the Group needs to further strengthen the relationship with suppliers and explore new customer groups. Given that the anti-epidemic policies are being relaxed, the Group remains optimistic about the outlook.

The Commercial Printing Segment

The Commercial Printing Segment recorded HK$59.1 million, with year-on-year increase of 1.4%. Under the COVID-19 pandemic, it is inevitable that the demand for commercial printing services will decrease. Although the Group has reduced the scale of operations to minimize operating costs, these two segments still recorded segment losses in FY2022. In order to maintain sustainable business growth, the Group must further strengthen the relationship with existing customers and explore new customer groups.

The Department Store Segment

During FY2022, the Department Store Segment recorded a revenue of approximately HK$146 million, representing a year-on-year increase of approximately 54%. The Group has taken proactive measures to reduce operating expenses such as staff costs, and negotiated rental concessions with landlords. The group will open a Japanese grocery store Nakamura store in the Sham Shui Po store in 2022 to expand the variety of goods and to meet customers’ needs. With the gradual relaxation of epidemic prevention measures, especially the reopening of the border between Hong Kong and Mainland China in early 2023, the Group expects the local retail market to usher in a rebound.

The LAC Segment

The revenue generated from consultancy services under CBI programme was HK$5.9 million in FY2022. The segment profit of LAC was approximately HK$1.8 billion mainly due to the gain on fair value changes of investment properties in Grenada. 

The principal business of the LAC Segment is the development of a project in Grenada (comprising 3 lots of land with 450 acres situated at the Mt. Hartman area in the parish of Saint George) (the “Grenada Project”), which a complex project including educational facilities, student apartments, residential properties, hotels and resort facilities, commercial developments and shopping facilities, as well as the longer planned establishment of university institutions and related amenities. The Group also intends to develop and invest in project in the Republic of Panama. During the year, the LAC segment continued construction on the Grenada project and formulated a development plan. Investment properties in Grenada have been reclassified as “properties under development” following the commencement of development programmes. Before the change of classification, the Latin America and Caribbean classification recorded a net gain of approximately HK$1.847 billion from changes in fair value due to the increase in the value of projects in Grenada during the year. and Dubai and other regions to establish comprehensive development plans and sales channels.

During the year, the LAC Segment continued its construction and established a development plan on the Grenada Project. With commencement of the development, the investment properties in Grenada has been reclassified as “properties under development”. Before the change in the classification, the LAC Segment recorded net gain on fair value change of approximately HK$1,846.8 million for the appreciation of the project value in Grenada during the year mainly as a result of establishment of a comprehensive development plan and sale channels in various geographic regions including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the United States of America and Dubai. 

The Grenada Project provides the Group with a valuable opportunity to diversify its business and operations in the Caribbean and Latin America regions and expand its overseas business scale. Introducing foreign investors under the CBI plan in Grenada, the Group is already developing the Grenada project, and hopes to use the experience of this project to explore more investment opportunities in the Latin America and Caribbean Regions. The Group has further secured investment in other four Caribbean countries, namely Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica. These four countries, together with Grenada, were selected by the Financial Times as one of the top five investment destinations for the CBI program.

In addition to the Grenada project, the Group is also negotiating with the related authorities of the Republic of Panama on a power generation project approved under the Republic of Panama's investment plan for foreign investors. The Group either invests in the target countries or forms a joint venture with the local government, and utilizes CBI programs in different countries to raise funds from foreign investors to establish and develop new businesses. The Group has been looking for suitable investment projects and formulating suitable business plans in designated Caribbean countries and the Republic of Panama, in order to maximize returns for the shareholders. The Group has set up a management and marketing team with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong and has hired a consultant in Vietnam to implement the market for the promotion of investment citizenship programs and investment opportunities in the above countries Promotion strategy.

Mr. Lin Xiaohui, Chairman of Realord Group said, “In future, we will continue to explore Latin American and Caribbean markets, looking for more business opportunities and partners, so that we can work together to create better commercial and social values for those markets and bring the best returns to our shareholders and investors. "