Hysan Development (0014.HK): FY18 Results in Line with Expectations; Look for Stable Retail and Positive Office Operations Going

22 February 2019 | 1:36AM HKT Hysan Development (0014.HK): FY18 results in line with expectations; Look for stable retail and positive office operations going ahead Result highlight Justin Kwok, CFA +852-2978-0481 | [email protected] n FY18 recurring underlying profit was up 8% yoy to HK$2,536mn (excl. impact Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. from the one-off early surrender compensation income in 2017), amid Colin Yao +852-2978-1474 | [email protected] -0.1%/+5.7% yoy on retail/residential rental revenue, while recurring underlying Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. profit for office was up 24.2% amid the commencement of operations of Lee Garden Three (LG3). n NPI grew by 8.6% yoy to HK$3,367 mn on the back of added contributions from LG3, while NPI margins compressed by 0.8 pp yoy to 86.6% due to the ramp-up/leasing costs of LG3, inline with our forecasts. n BVPS was up 6.3% yoy to HK$71.12 on the back of positive reversions while cap rates were largely unchanged. n DPS up 5.1% yoy to HK$1.44, with a payout ratio to underlying EPS of about 59%, delivering a 3.4% yield to the last close of HK$41.75. Key takeaways from analyst briefing: n HK retail portfolio o After a 22% negative retail rental reversions in 2017, Hysan’s portfolio saw more stable performance in 2018 with largely neutral level of reversions, and its occupancy-cost-ratio (OCR) kept steady at around mid-teen level. Into 2019E, roughly one-third of the company’s retail portfolio space would be up for renewal and management expects likely another year of largely neutral level reversions as well. o While the company acknowledges the slower growth path of HK’s retail sales (its portfolio tenant sales slowed from 1H18’s +22-23% yoy to 3Q18’s +11-12% and 4Q18’s +6%), into 2019 it does not foresee a sudden collapse in retail spending. While early readings from 2019 would potentially be distorted by timing of Chinese New Year, its January tenant sales were still running at high-single-digit to double-digit percentage growth levels (of which Hysan Place at 20+% level). n Office segment o Currently, c.10% of the office space is being leased by co-working space operators (up from 6% as of 1H2018), which range from the budget to Goldman Sachs does and seeks to do business with companies covered in its research reports. As a result, investors should be aware that the firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this report. Investors should consider this report as only a single factor in making their investment decision. For Reg AC certification and other important disclosures, see the Disclosure Appendix, or go to www.gs.com/research/hedge.html. Analysts employed by non-US affiliates are not registered/qualified as research analysts with FINRA in the U.S. Goldman Sachs Hysan Development (0014.HK) high end players. The company sees these operators not only bring transient traffic but also add variety of events to the portfolio. o Overall, management expects its positive rental reversions in the office segments to continue ahead. n Dividend policy: Management stated that c.60% payout ratio is the right level of payout that it hopes to keep. In addition, it expects a steady and progressive growth in absolute DPS going ahead. Investment view, valuation and risks n Given low office vacancy across the entire HK Island and record levels of spot rents, we see Hysan’s office segment (accounts for 44% of 2019E revenue) to continue to see positive rental reversions, while retail (accounts for 49% of 2019E revenue) would be largely flattish as it is working on the renewals/re-tenanting of luxury trade leases that were secured in the last upcycle. However, we think Hysan already saw some signs of recovery in its retail operations with an 8% yoy increase in footfall and 16% increase in tenant sales in 2018; this reaffirms our view that the worst period of the group’s retail operations is behind us and the forward recovery path is solid. (for more details refer to our Upgrade to Neutral note, published on Apr 25, 2018) n We see the company’s near-term focus will be to enhance its offerings in the HK retail portfolio (AEIs and tenant reshuffling) and to curate the neighborhood to attract more traffic. n We revise our EPS by up to -2.5% on the back of the result, and maintain our 12-month NAV-based target price at HK$43.00 (still based on 35% disc. to Fwd NAV). We remain Neutral rated. n Key risks o Upside: Faster-than-expected growth in tourist spending in Hong Kong. This could be due to 1) the high speed railway launched in 2H18 driving more traffic into Hong Kong, and 2) higher-than-expected rental achieved in Lee Gardens Three. o Downside: Weaker-than-expected domestic spending. This could be due to 1) lower-than-expected inbound tourists, 2) further decline in inbound tourists’ per capita spending, and 3) abrupt forex movement. 22 February 2019 2 Goldman Sachs Hysan Development (0014.HK) Exhibit 1: Hysan Dev FY18 results summary Key financials FY17 FY18 YoY Chg 2H FY17 1H FY18 2H FY18 YoY Chg HoH Chg Remarks (FY18) Gross rental income 3,548 3,890 9.6% 1,757 1,912 1,978 12.6% 3.5% Retail tenant sales saw a +16.2%yoy in 2018 (vs. HK retail sales of +8.8%yoy) Retail 1,925 1,923 -0.1% 940 962 961 2.2% -0.1% Rental reversion -0.1% yoy (2017: -2.2% yoy), occp at 98% as of Dec-18 vs. 97% as of Dec-17 Office 1,359 1,688 24.2% 687 820 868 26.3% 5.9% Rental reversion +24.2% yoy (2017: +5.2% yoy), occp at 97% as of Dec-18 vs. 96% as of Dec-17 Residential 264 279 5.7% 130 130 149 14.6% 14.6% Rental reversion +5.7% yoy (2017: -3.6% yoy), occp at 88% as of Dec-18 vs. 75% as of Dec-17 Net rental income 3,099 3,367 8.6% 1,496 1,688 1,679 12.2% -0.5% Retail 1,672 1,648 -1.4% 790 856 792 0.3% -7.5% Net rental margin was 86% in 2018, vs. 87% in 2017 Office 1,217 1,498 23.1% 607 728 770 26.9% 5.8% Net rental margin was 89% in 2018 vs. 90% in 2017 Residential 210 221 5.2% 99 104 117 18.2% 12.5% Net rental margin was 79% in 2018 vs. 80% in 2017 Other gains/losses 261.0 (16) n.a. 261 (9) (7) n.a. n.a. Other income/(expenses) (225) (210) -6.7% (131) (99) (111) -15.3% 12.1% EBITDA 3,135 3,141 0.2% 1,626 1,580 1,561 -4.0% -1.2% Opex reflect the full commencement of LG3 Depreciation (22) (17) -22.7% (10) (9) (8) -20.0% -11.1% Net finance charges (89) (144) 61.8% (52) (74) (70) 34.6% -5.4% Net debt to equity ratio up to 4.7% at Dec-18 (vs. 5.6% at Jun-18) Operating profits 3,024 2,980 -1.5% 1,564 1,497 1,483 -5.2% -0.9% Finance cost incl. cessation of interest expense capitalisation of HK$51mn Share of profit from asso. 220 288 30.9% 114 137 151 32.5% 10.2% upon LG3’s completion in 2017 Reval surplus on inv prop. 853 3,532 314.1% 1,628 1,790 1,742 NM -2.7% Cap rates remained unchanged HoH: 4.25-4.75% for office, 5.00-5.25% for retail, Profit before taxation 4,097 6,800 66.0% 3,306 3,424 3,376 2.1% -1.4% 3.75% for residential; revaluation gain reflects the generally Taxation (484) (481) -0.6% (241) (241) (240) -0.4% -0.4% positive rental outlook and completions of AEIs Minority interest 23 (286) -1343.5% (175) (170) (116) -33.7% -31.8% Recorded a MI loss of HK$286mn in FY18 Net profits 3,636 6,033 65.9% 2,890 3,013 3,020 4.5% 0.2% Underlying profit 2,491 2,536 1.8% 1,264 1,280 1,256 -0.6% -1.9% Recurring underlying profi 2,349 2,536 8.0% 1,122 1,280 1,256 11.9% -1.9% 2018 recurring underlying profit +8.0% yoy EPS, basic (HK$) 3.48 5.77 65.8% 2.76 2.88 2.89 4.4% 0.2% Underlying EPS (HK$) 2.38 2.42 1.7% 1.21 1.22 1.20 -0.7% -1.9% DPS (HK$) 1.37 1.44 5.1% 1.11 0.27 1.17 5.4% NM Full year DPS +5.1%yoy Investment properties 72,470 77,442 6.9% 72,470 75,436 77,442 6.9% 2.7% Book Value (HK$/ shr) 66.89 71.12 6.3% 66.89 68.64 71.12 6.3% 3.6% Operating metrics FY17 FY18 YoY Chg 2H FY17 1H FY18 2H FY18 YoY Chg HoH Chg Remarks (FY18) Occupancy rate Retail 97% 98% 1 pp 97% 96% 98% 1 pp 2 pp Office 96% 97% 1 pp 96% 95% 97% 1 pp 2 pp Residential 75% 88% 13 pp 75% 79% 88% 13 pp 9 pp Tenant sales yoy n.a.

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