(Reuters) – Debt-laden Chinese developer Country Garden expects to report a net loss for the first half of 2023 and said it would take measures to meet its debt obligations and fix operational issues to get the company back on track, it said on Thursday.
The company said it has set up a special task force, headed by its chairman Yang Huiyan, to find ways to improve its operations at a time when the Chinese property sector grapples with a liquidity crunch.
“One shall pick himself up from where he has fallen. The company will adhere to its responsibilities, spare no effort in self-rescue,” the company said in a statement.
For the first half ended June 30, the company estimates its net loss between 45 billion yuan ($6.24 billion) and 55 billion yuan, it said in its preliminary report. This compares with a net profit of 1.91 billion yuan a year earlier.
In its rescue plan, the company aims to ensure the timely delivery of property projects, while also effectively controlling pre-sale monitoring funds. It said it also intends to adopt various debt management measures and ensure orderly operations, among others.
The company said it expects to deliver a total of nearly 700,000 units in 2023. It achieved attributable sales of 140.8 billion yuan from January to July 2023, down 35% from a year ago.
The company expects to publish its interim results for the first half in late August.
At present, the group has sufficient net assets and abundant land reserves, it added.
Rating agency Moody’s earlier downgraded the developer’s corporate family rating, citing heightened liquidity and refinancing risk after the company missed bond payments.
($1 = 7.2068 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta Agarwal and Shailesh Kuber)
