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Revenue Amounted to HK$177.3 Million; Interim Dividend of HK$1.68 cents per Ordinary Share
Pine Care Place is Expected to Commence its Operation in the Fourth Quarter of 2017; Making Efforts to Expand into the Upscale Segment of the Industry
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HONG KONG, June 21, 2017 - (ACN Newswire) - A leading operator of care and attention homes for the elderly in Hong Kong, Pine Care Group Limited ("Pine Care Group" or the "Company", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group", stock code: 1989.HK), today announced its consolidated results for the year ended 31 March 2017 ("FY2017" or "Year Under Review").
FY2017 has been a significant year for Pine Care Group. Since the Group's listing on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 15 February, 2017, the management team has been focusing on pursuing growth opportunities and strengthening the Group's operational capabilities in preparation for the rapidly changing competitive landscape of the industry. Thanks to proper operation, and benefiting from the strong demand for quality elderly care services in Hong Kong, the Group achieved good operation results in FY2017. In the Year Under Review, the Group has delivered a revenue growth of approximately 2.6% to HK$177.3 million in FY2017 from HK$172.7 million in FY2016. As operation activities have brought in a steady cash flow, the Board has resolved to declare an interim dividend of HK1.68 cents per ordinary share.
Mr. YIM Ting Kwok, Chairman and Executive Director of Pine Care Group, said, "Pine Care Group has been serving the elderly in Hong Kong since 1989. Since then, we have always emphasised on the quality and innovation of our services, and have always operated based on our guiding principles. We attract the best staff members possible and having the right system in place to help them reach their full potentials, respect the elderly residents as our families, and we always put the best interests of the elderly residents above all other matters. In the past 28 years, through good and bad times, we have always held firmly to these principles, and these are the principles that have guided us to where we are today."
In the Year Under Review, due to the strong demand for quality elderly care services in Hong Kong, the Group's overall average occupancy rate was kept at a relatively high level of 92.7% in FY2017. The major source of revenue for the Group is from the rendering of elderly home care services. Revenue generated from said business has increased by 3.3% to HK$151.8 million in FY2017 from HK$146.9 million in FY2016, which accounted for approximately 85.6% of FY2017 revenue, showing a steady growth. On another note, as part of the Group's continual effort to increase service standards, the Group has applied to the Social Welfare Department to upgrade all of its care and attention homes currently classified as EA2 under the EBPS to EA1 status. All applications have been approved. The requirements for EA1 include a higher labour ratio and floor area per residential care place, which represent an improvement in the Group's service quality.
Concurrently, the Group has been adjusting its care and attention home network. In the Year Under Review, the Group has successfully acquired and disposed one care and attention home respectively, so as to ensure stable operation of its care and attention home network. The Group now operates nine care and attention homes with over one thousand residential care places across five districts in Hong Kong. In the Year Under Review, the Group successfully completed the acquisition of Tsuen Wan Elderly Care Services Limited so as to accommodate the majority of the existing residents of Pine Care (Po Tak Branch) Elderly Centre, which had to be relocated due to the early termination of the lease by the landlord. The new care and attention home was named Pine Care Chun King Elderly Centre with a net floor area of approximately 11,544 sq. feet, which can accommodate 113 residents. The Group has signed a new EBPS agreement with the Social Welfare Department for the new care and attention home. The Group has also entered into a formal agreement to dispose of Pine Care Centre Limited located in Kwun Tong in response to the non-renewal of the lease by the landlord.
The fitting out of the Group's new upscale care and attention home, Pine Care Place, is well underway, and is expected to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2017. Pine Care Place is positioned as an upscale care and attention home with a floor area of approximately 33,424 sq. feet, designed to accommodate 68 residential care places. In addition to a higher standard of accommodation and a higher labour ratio compared to EA1 standards, Pine Care Place will also offer more individualised services and lifestyle-oriented facilities. Pine Care Place is the Group's first foray into the upscale segment which represents one of the major directions of the Group's future growth strategy. With the Group's operational capabilities, proven track record of delivering quality elderly care service, and the trend for increasingly higher levels of service, Pine Care Place will undoubtedly become the Group's new driver for growth.
In order to facilitate the future developments, to adapt to shifting competitive landscape and customer expectations, the emphasis in the coming year for the Group will be placed on renovation of existing care and attention homes, giving them a fresh look and a betterment of the facilities, and continue development in the Group's IT system. At the same time, the Group will strengthen its HR efforts to recruit and retain qualified staff, with the aim to reduce the number of temporary agency staff and to combat labour shortage in the industry. The Group will also expand horizontally through the acquisition of properties suitable for replicating its proven business model by using the listing proceeds, and enter into the upscale silver age segment through Pine Care Place.
Mr. YIM concluded, "Looking ahead, the market demand is expected to remain robust and grow at a faster pace than supply. Together with the favourable policy environment and our track record as an industry leader, the Group has every reason to believe that we are well positioned to capture the opportunities that lie ahead. We will grasp the opportunities for growth in the industry and optimise our services incessantly, so as to uphold and strengthen our market position in the industry, and create more value for our shareholders and the society."
Topic: Press release summary
Source: Pine Care Group Limited
Sectors: Daily Finance, Daily News
https://www.acnnewswire.com
From the Asia Corporate News Network
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