Hong Kong, September 25, 2017 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a first-time B2 corporate
family rating to Jiayuan International Group Limited. The rating
outlook is stable.
RATINGS RATIONALE
"Jiayuan's B2 rating reflects its established track record
in its core markets -- Nanjing, Yangzhou and Taixing --
in Jiangsu Province, low-cost land bank, and focus
on mass-market housing, as well as management's demonstrated
abilities in identifying quality land," says Kaven Tsang,
a Moody's Vice President and Senior Credit Officer.
These strengths will support the company's execution of its business
growth plan and provide it with pricing flexibility, if the property
markets in Jiangsu Province weaken.
Jiayuan has kept its unit land acquisition cost at below 20% of
its average selling price over the past three years, supporting
a high gross margin of 34% in 2016.
Its strategy of focusing on mass-market housing and end-users
would also lower the company's exposure to the risk of regulatory
controls targeting investors.
Jiayuan achieved a strong 67% year-on-year growth
in contracted sales to RMB4.8 billion in the first eight months
of 2017 after showing 21.6% year-on-year growth
in 2016.
"Jiayuan's rating is also constrained by its small operating
scale, high geographic concentration in Jiangsu Province,
the execution risks associated with its fast growth plan in the next 1-2
years, and its weak liquidity," adds Tsang, also
Moody's lead analyst for Jiayuan.
Its small and Jiangsu-centric operation mean that the company's
business performance is highly dependent on the sales and completion of
a small number of key projects, as well as the state of housing
demand, the availability of bank credit, and the regulatory
environment in Jiangsu Province.
Moody's notes that Jiayuan's four major markets - Nanjing,
Taixing, Nantong and Yangzhou in Jiangsu -- accounted for more
than 80% of the company's contracted sales in the first seven
months of 2017.
Additionally, the company has a high exposure to low-tier
cities (cities other than Nanjing and Yangzhou) in Jiangsu, which
accounted for around 74% of its land bank as of June 2017.
Moody's believes the availability of bank credit in low-tier
cities will be more affected than major cities if the banks tighten lending
to the property sector, which in turn will affect the company's
sales.
While Jiayuan's expansion into new cities -- Shenzhen,
Hainan and Macau -- will gradually improve its geographic diversification,
the fast pace of expansion and the entry into multiple cities in a short
time frame entail execution risks and high funding needs.
Moody's expects Jiayuan's leverage will rise as a result,
with projected revenue/adjusted debt falling to 45%-50%
at the end of 2017 from 60% at the end of June 2017 and 58%
at the end of December 2016 due to its debt-funded growth.
But the ratio will recover to around 55% by the end of 2018 when
the company's revenues increase, supported by its higher contracted
sales.
Moody's also expects the high profit margin and lower funding costs
after its IPO in 2016 will partly mitigate the effect of higher borrowings.
As a result, Jiayuan's projected EBIT/interest will stay at
2.6x-3.0x in the next 12-18 months,
versus 2.9x for the 12 months ended June 2017 and 2.4x in
2016.
Nevertheless, Moody's believes Jiayuan's projected financial
metrics are appropriate for its B2 CFR.
Jiayuan has to seek new financing to support its liquidity. Its
cash holding of RMB3.3 billion at the end of June 2017 is insufficient
to cover payments of RMB4.8 billion for its committed land acquisitions
and the high refinancing needs for its short-term debt of RMB2.2
billion.
On the other hand, Moody's notes that Jiayuan's cash/short-term
debt coverage strengthened to 1.6x at the end of June 2017 from
0.4x at the end of 2016 due to its growing contracted sales and
equity issuance in June 2017. Its cash holding was RMB1.4
billion at the end of 2016.
Jiayuan's stable rating outlook reflects our expectation that (1)
the company will grow sales as planned, and (2) it will adjust its
speed of expansion in accordance with market conditions and maintain adequate
liquidity by improving its funding channels and strengthening its banking
relationships both onshore and offshore.
Upward rating pressure could emerge if Jiayuan (1) materially grows its
scale and geographic coverage with financial discipline; (2) builds
up its brand in new locations outside its home market; (3) maintains
strong liquidity with cash/short-term debt coverage of over 1.5x,
and (4) improves its financial metrics with EBIT/interest coverage consistently
above 3.0x and revenue/adjusted debt over 70%-75%
on a sustained basis.
Downward rating pressure could emerge if (1) Jiayuan's liquidity
profile weakens materially ; (2) contracted sales or revenue fall
short of our expectations or profit margins substantially decline,
which in turn affects interest coverage and financial flexibility;
or (3) the company engages in material debt-funded acquisitions.
Metrics indicative of downward rating pressure include Jiayuan's
cash falling below 1x of short-term debt, or the company's
EBIT/interest coverage weakening below 1.5x on a sustained basis.
The principal methodology used in these ratings was Homebuilding And Property
Development Industry published in April 2015. Please see the Rating
Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this
methodology.
Jiayuan International Group Limited develops mass-market residential
properties mainly in Jiangsu Province. The company had a total
land bank of around 6.9 million square meters (sqm) across 11 cities
at the end of June 2017. Mr. Shum Tin Ching is the chairman,
holding a 60.81% stake as of June 2017.
REGULATORY DISCLOSURES
For ratings issued on a program, series or category/class of debt,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series
or category/class of debt or pursuant to a program for which the ratings
are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's
rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider,
this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation
to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to
each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their
credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating.
For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory
disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and
in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to
the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction
structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive
rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further
information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the
respective issuer on www.moodys.com.
For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit
support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action,
and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action,
the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity.
Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures,
if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure
to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.
Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit
rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating
review.
Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to
the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued
the rating.
Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com
for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.
The first name below is the lead rating analyst for this Credit Rating
and the last name below is the person primarily responsible for approving
this Credit Rating.
Kaven Tsang
VP - Senior Credit Officer
Corporate Finance Group
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
24/F One Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Hong Kong
China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Gary Lau
MD - Corporate Finance
Corporate Finance Group
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077
Releasing Office:
Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.
24/F One Pacific Place
88 Queensway
Hong Kong
China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)
JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350
Client Service: 852 3551 3077