By Clare Jim
(Reuters) -Hong Kong-listed shares of state-backed developer China Vanke slid as much as 11.1% in early trading on Tuesday after it reported a 50.6% drop in 2023 core profit and no dividend payout late last week.
The stock of China’s second-largest property developer by sales touched HK$4.77 shortly after opening, a record low.
Investors have been dumping Vanke’s shares and bonds in the past few weeks on cash flow concerns, triggering a rare central government directive to help the Shenzhen-based company beat a liquidity crisis.
China Vanke told an earnings conference on Friday it aimed to boost its cash flow by slashing debt by 100 billion yuan ($13.83 billion) over the next two years, and lifting income from businesses other than property development as it sees continued margin pressure in 2024 and 2025 during a market correction.
Analysts were disappointed about the lower-than-expected results and no dividend for the first time.
“We remain cautious on the sustained underperformance on contracted sales, while the current valuation has not fully factored in the earnings deterioration in our view,” Jefferies said in a report.
($1 = 7.2318 )
