Steadily Expands the Greater Bay Area Business
Achieves Growth in Total Revenue and Market Share
China Wantian Holdings Limited (China Wantian Holdings, together with its subsidiaries, the Group; HKG: 1854) announces the audited annual results for the year ended 31 March 2023 (the Year or the year under review). The Group is principally engaged in three businesses, namely green food supply, green catering, and environmental protection and technology. These businesses developed steadily during the Year and delivered remarkable results. During the year under review, the Group has established business operations in Shenzhen and Zhongshan cities, China, and set up its headquarters in Nanshan, Shenzhen in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the Greater Bay Area). This marked the Group’s official debut in the Greater Bay Area market, where great potentials bound, and signified its commitment to becoming an industry-leading supplier and service provider of green food ingredients and green food in the Greater Bay Area.
During the year under review, in parallel with the rapid development of the Greater Bay Area market, the Group has adopted a multipronged approach in order to accelerate its business development in the area. The Group has been taking advantage of the synergies among its three principal businesses in the hope of achieving growth in both its total revenue and market share. The Group’s revenue for the Year was approximately HK$202.1 million, which increased by approximately 58.3% from approximately HK$127.7 million recorded in the previous year. Driven by the green food supply business, which contributed approximately 93.1% to the Group’s gross profit, the Group’s overall gross profit surged by approximately 91.4% year on year to approximately HK$35.9 million, while the gross profit margin increased by 3.1 percentage points to approximately 17.8%. However, the Group’s administrative expenses increased by approximately 116.0% to approximately HK$50.2 million, which was mainly attributable to the increase in administrative and payroll expenses incurred following the establishment of the Group’s Greater Bay Area headquarters and the recognition of share-based payment expenses for the share options granted on 13 April 2022. Furthermore, the Group has expanded its green food supply business into the Greater Bay Area market and commenced two new businesses, namely green catering and environmental protection and technology, during the Year. As a result, the Group recorded a net loss of approximately HK$27.7 million (Year ended 31 March 2022: net loss of approximately HK$11.0 million). Nevertheless, the management believes that the above-mentioned investment is conducive to the Group’s business expansion in the Greater Bay Area, thus supporting the sustainable development of the Group in the long term.
Green food supply is the Group’s highest revenue generator and accounts for approximately 97.2% of the total revenue. This segment delivered encouraging performance with segment revenue increasing notably by approximately 53.9% year on year to approximately HK$196.5 million. In November 2022, the Group completed the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Champion Point Limited’s subsidiary Shenzhen Wealth Source Trading Development Company Limited* (“Shenzhen Wealth Source”), further expanding its existing food supply business into the Greater Bay Area market. Shenzhen Wealth Source, a domestic green food supply chain service provider, sources live cattle from regions such as Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and distributes them to downstream customers in the Greater Bay Area, while also supplying fruits, vegetables, and seafood to restaurants in the Greater Bay Area. Following completion of the acquisition, the Group has expanded its market share by progressively enlarging the trading volume of its green food supply business. Besides, the Group continued to operate its fresh food supply business in Hong Kong, and is principally engaged in sourcing, processing and supplying food ingredients, with a focus on the provision of vegetables and fruit to food service operators in Hong Kong. Revenue derived from the fresh food supply business in Hong Kong amounted to approximately HK$139.2 million, representing approximately 70.8% of the segment revenue.
Green catering business contributed approximately HK$4.9 million in revenue to the Group during the Year. The Group has successfully pushed forward with a rapid expansion of Wantian Catering’s business scope during the year under review, and is now operating restaurants targeting young customers in the hub of Zhongshan. These restaurants have increased the Group’s brand awareness in the Greater Bay Area, and at the same time broadened both its customer base and market share. With the impact of COVID-19 gradually receding over the year under review, the resumption of dine-in services at restaurants across the region saw progressive recovery for the catering industry, and both the number of restaurant customers and the revenue of the Group have experienced robust growth. At the same time, the catering business provided a stable distribution channel for the Group’s upstream business, helping the Group move towards full integration of the value chain.
Environmental protection and technology business recorded a revenue of approximately HK$0.8 million during the Year. The Group has continued to adhere to its vision of providing “modern agricultural technology and environmental protection” by setting up farms on rooftop spaces to promote greening and environmental protection. Through this, the Group is enabling primary and secondary school students in the Greater Bay Area to take part in rooftop farming, fostering beneficial interactions between humans and the natural world as well as bringing green power to buildings in large cities.
On 11 April 2023, the Group announced the proposed rights issue on the basis of one rights share for every five existing shares held, at a subscription price of HK$0.36 per rights share (the “Rights Issue”). Through the Rights Issue, 309,504,000 new shares were issued, the net proceeds of which were estimated to be approximately HK$101.7 million. Regarding the net proceeds, (a) 30% will be used to launch a live cattle breeding site project; (b) 25% will be used to develop the Group’s live cattle trading business; (c) 10% will be used to expand its fresh food supply business; (d) 10% will be used to develop its catering business; (e) 10% will be used for the repayment of an outstanding loan; (f) 5% will be used to enhance and upgrade the Group’s offices in the Greater Bay Area; and (g) 10% will be used for the Group’s general working capital. The Rights Issue gave the qualifying shareholders of China Wantian Holdings an opportunity to take up their entitlements to maintain their shareholdings in the Group, while also strengthening the Group’s capital base and enhancing its financial position. By helping the Group achieve sustainable development, the Rights Issue is working in the interests of shareholders.
With active participation from local governments in the Greater Bay Area, the region has maintained its leading position in several fields, bringing significant growth prospects. In parallel with the rising standards of citizens, there is a high demand for beef in the Greater Bay Area but the region is not self-sufficient in this respect, resulting in an escalating supply shortage in the long term. Looking forward, the Group’s focus will be on developing its role in the live cattle breeding and trading industry, with the aim of expanding its business to connect the upstream (breeding), midstream (processing/logistics) and downstream (restaurants/prepared dishes/sale terminals) sectors to create a comprehensive live cattle industry chain in the Greater Bay Area. The Group sees this business as an important source of revenue and margin growth in the future.
The Group will explore the potential of the Greater Bay Area market with determination and perseverance and steadfastly develop its core businesses, namely the live cattle breeding and trading business, green food supply chain business and green catering business, thus building a whole industry chain connecting upstream, midstream and downstream components. The management believe that the three main business initiatives will continue to deliver strong synergies and open up unique opportunities, thus helping the Group emerge as an industry-leading green food supplier and service provider in China.
About China Wantian Holdings Limited
China Wantian Holdings Limited (HKG: 1854) is an investment holding company. The Group is principally engaged in green food supply, green catering and environmental protection and technology. In May 2022, China Wantian Holdings established its Greater Bay Area headquarters in Shenzhen, marking its official debut in the Greater Bay Area market to actively establish a leading green brand in the Greater Bay Area to provide customers with fresh, healthy and safe food, striving to become an industry-leading green food supplier and service provider in China.
For more details, please visit: http://www.cwth.com.hk/
* The English name is not the official name and is translated for reference purpose only.