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| - Diversified Business Lines including the opening of Flagship resort project Rio Carnival (Qingdao) and Touring Carnival will provide strong support to performance in Second Half |
HONG KONG, Aug 30, 2015 - (ACN Newswire) - Carnival Group International Holdings Limited ("Carnival Group International" or the "Group"; HKSe: 996), China's only publicly listed company principally engaged in theme-based leisure and consumption business, has announced its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2015. The Group recorded profit for the period of approximately HK$83.3 million, up 40% as compared to approximately HK$59.4 million for the six months ended 30 June 2014. The improvement on the results is mainly due to increase in gross profit to approximately HK$149.7 million, which is somewhat offset by the increase in administrative expenses of approximately HK$43.9 million, increase in finance costs of approximately HK$34.6 million, and decrease in income tax credit of approximately HK$33.7 million.
During the period under review, the Group continued to expand its portfolio of experiential consumption offerings to take advantage of the tremendous business opportunities unleashed by China's burgeoning middle class, and the Central Government's steadfast determination to advance the tourism industries in identified key tourist cities, including Qingdao. Outstanding growth opportunities are expected for the various new business lines launched in the first half while Rio Carnival (Qingdao), the Group's flagship project, has commenced operations on 6 July 2015 and is expected to contribute strong cash flow to the Group.
Unveiling the long-awaited Rio Carnival (Qingdao): the preeminent lifestyle concept in the PRC
The highly anticipated flagship resort project, Rio Carnival (Qingdao) is located in the picturesque Qingdao city, one of the top-tier tourist cities in the PRC renowned for its coastline and beer. Opened for business since 6 July 2015, the project with premises interspersed across a gross floor area of 800,000 sq.m. will be the foremost integrated retail, residential and tourism complex of its kind in the PRC and is expected to prosper as one of PRC's most exciting tourist destinations, offering unparalleled leisure and entertainment experiences.
Rio Carnival (Qingdao) Outlet, a focal point of the project, brings together around 250 prestigious international premium brands, such as ARMANI, ESCADA, a.testoni, Brooks Brothers, Samsonite, Aquascutum, Tommy Hilfiger, DANIEL HECHTER, Gant, Gap, Lacoste. These stores offer competitive prices and compelling value to captivate approximately 70 million visitors and approximately 9 million residents in Qingdao. Since its opening in early July, the number of visitors has reached over 200,000.
Golden Jaguar, the high-end buffet chain restaurant the Group acquired in mid-2015 will be grand opened inside the premise. In addition, there will be a wonderful themed multicuisine restaurant dining street along the canal and Tangdao Bay, a fully functional conference centre, open performance squares for performances, concerts, sports matches and parades, a state-of-the-art entertainment complex featuring a Jackie Chan Cinema (the largest and the newest DMAX cinema in Shandong province), karaoke, electronic games parlour, medical beauty salon, wellness check-up and other health programs (such as gym, yoga, spa), China's largest Lego school of over 6,000 sq.m. and a world-class tournament standard indoor ice skating rink and a school, providing a one-stop shopping, leisure and entertainment experience all located within the Rio Carnival (Qingdao) complex.
A 68-meter high ferris wheel called "Qindao Eye" overlooking the scenic Tangdao Bay has been opened to the public since 1 June 2015. Other sections of the project including indoor and outdoor underwater ocean exploration theme parks, an upscale family-oriented hotel and a luxury hotel which are managed by the Langham Hospitality Group, will open in phases.
Pioneering the touring theme park market in Asia
Fortune 500 companies AECOM ranked China as a significant market for theme parks, as it is home to more than half of the top 20 amusement parks in Asia Pacific, with each attracting 2-4 million visitors annually.
The Group's touring theme park business will be conducted via another new JV, Global Star Carnival Holdings Limited ("Global Star"), which is approximately 80% owned by the Group. The Group's JV partner is well experienced in organizing large scale entertainment projects and carnivals, and was the first to introduce the concepts of "touring theme parks" and "carnivals" to China. It had also organized touring theme parks in China's top-tiered tourist cities such as Beijing, Qingdao, Xiamen, Nanjing and Haikou before, attracting millions of visitors.
Global Star will engage in the business of conceptualizing and operating touring theme parks in the PRC and other parts of Asia. For each set of touring theme park equipment sourced from Europe, Global Star plans to tour 2-3 cities with at least 1-2 million projected visitors per city. Global Star plans to purchase three sets of such equipment in the next 2-3 years, and annually engage in tours of 6-9 cities, with Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, etc, under consideration.
Tung Wah Group of Hospitals ("TWGH"), the first and largest local charitable organization, is the sole beneficiary of Global Star's first carnival which is organized in association with our partner United Events Limited, and will be launched in Hong Kong in celebration of TWGHs' 145th Anniversary. Global Star aims to attract at least 1.5 to 2 million local and overseas visitors during the three-month period (tentatively late December 2015 to late March 2016). Part of the proceeds will be donated to TWGHs to support its services for the youth, children and low-income groups.
Gaining early entree into the enormous children's education market in Asia
According to an analysis on China's pre-school education market and investment potential released by ChinaIRR.org, currently in China, children of age zero to six have reached 100 million, revealing huge potential consumer groups. The children education market is also projected to hit RMB100 billion in 2016.
Recognizing the looming market potential, the Group has tapped the market in China by forming a joint venture (JV) with Kids Edutainment Limited ("Kids Edutainment"), Haokaishi Holdings Limited ("Haokaishi"), which is approximately 70% owned by the Group. The joint venture is to focus on developing and operating innovative edutainment programs and/or courses for children in the PRC and other parts of Asia using cartoon characters and licensed materials from well-known global brands. To be launched in the PRC next year, Haokaishi targets to co-operate with brands including Discovery Channel, Peppa Pig, and Teletubbies to develop children's edutainment programs/courses and offer a year-round experience with different learning topics for children from 6 months to 8 years of age. Haokaishi plans to open up to 100 self-owned centres and franchise up to 400 centres in selected cities with higher spending power in China during the next five years. The Discovery Kids Curiosity Centre located in Shenzhen, China has commenced a trial run in July 2015.
Mr. King Pak Fu, Chairman of Carnival Group International, said, "Riding on the enormous growth potential of the tourism sector and the rapidly-expanding pool of affluent Chinese spenders, Carnival Group International is pioneering integrated theme based lifestyle concepts in China by opening Rio Carnival (Qingdao) in phases, launching two new innovative joint ventures and acquiring Golden Jaguar during the period under review, to fully capitalize on any cross-selling opportunities presented by the structural transformation of the flourishing Chinese economy. Looking ahead, the Group's core business should continue to benefit from the Chinese Central Government's latest policies and full support on the development of the tourism industry, especially on themed leisure projects and development of city-vacation destinations attractive to wide swathes of the public. Leveraging its current market advantages and unique business model, the Group will continue to explore quality large-scale tourism and leisure projects in selected destinations in China and abroad, in order to generate sustainable returns on investment for our shareholders."
Mr. Leung Wing Cheong, Eric, Chief Executive Officer of Carnival Group International, said, "In the first half we succeeded in launching into three new businesses which are asset-light, scalable and also primarily cash-based, meaning a faster return on equity can be generated. The new businesses can further enrich the Group's portfolio of experiential consumption offerings and successfully transform from a real estate developer into a leading integrated tourism, hospitality and retail service provider in the PRC and overseas. The Group also continued to enhance our capital structure and financial resources. With a strong shareholder base covering both long-term and strategic shareholders, we are confident that our theme-based leisure and consumption business model will enable continued growth and bring shareholders substantial value in the years to come."
About Carnival Group International Holdings Limited
The Group is principally engaged in theme based leisure and consumption business, focusing on the design, development and operation of integrated tourism resort projects in top-tiered cities in and outside the People's Republic of China ("PRC"), which comprise of premium outlets, theme parks, leisure facilities and hotels, as well as other complementary products and services including food & beverages, edutainment and touring theme parks. On 14 May 2014, the Group became a constituent in the MSCI Small Cap Index. In addition, effective from 9 March 2015, the Group has become a constituent in the Hang Seng Composite Mid Cap Index and has been included in the Northbound Trading of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect.
For more information about Carnival Group International, please visit the Company's website at http://www.0996.com.hk.
For enquiries:
Strategic Financial Relations Limited
Ingrid Cheng
Tel: +852 2864 4836
Email: Ingrid.cheng@sprg.com.hk
Sophie Du
Tel: +852 2114 4901
Email: sophie.du@sprg.com.hk
Topic: Earnings
Source: Carnival Group International Holdings Limited
Sectors: Daily Finance
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From the Asia Corporate News Network
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