Guangshen Railway Announces 2013 Annual Results

HONG KONG, March 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Guangshen Railway Company Limited ("Guangshen Railway" or the "Company") (HKEx Share Code: 525; SSE Share Code: 601333; American Depositary Shares ("ADS") Ticker Symbol: GSH) today announced the audited operating results of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") for the year ended December 31, 2013 (the "Year").

In 2013, under International Financial Reporting Standards, the Company's operating revenue reached RMB 15,801 million, up 4.70% year-on-year. Consolidated profit attributable to equity holders reached RMB 1,274 million, with basic earnings per share of RMB 0.18. The Board of Directors recommends a final dividend of RMB 0.08 per share for 2013, which is equivalent to 44% of the basic earnings per share this year.

Guangshen Railway said, "In 2013, the Company kept a focus on its operational objectives and strived to overcome the impact of unfavorable factors such as slowing macroeconomic growth, sluggish demand in the railway freight transportation market, intense competition and frequent natural disasters. Through these efforts, the Company reinforced infrastructure safety and enhanced the operational plan for its trains. It also undertook reforms for the freight transportation organization, implemented measures to grow transportation volume and revenue, expanded the scope of diversified operations, and ensured the safety and stability of transportation and production. Operating revenue and passenger delivery volume increased while freight tonnage staged a rebound since July, reflecting the initial outcomes of the freight reform."

During the year, the Company recorded passenger delivery volume of 90.9568 million, up 7.52% year-on-year. Revenue from passenger transportation rose 2.77% year-on-year to RMB 8,058 million, of which passenger delivery volumes of through trains rose 3.86% year-on-year to 3.9094 million, and passenger volumes of long-distance trains reached 50.0683 million, up 11.14% year-on-year. Long-distance trains and through trains achieved revenues of RMB 5,144 million and RMB 498 million respectively, marking year-on-year increases of 3.15% and 3.76%. Passenger delivery volume of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains rose 3.34% to 36.9791 million, delivering revenue of RMB 2,416 million.

The increase in delivery volume and revenues from passenger transportion of Guangzhou-Shenzhen inter-city trains, long-distance trains and through trains was mainly due to the significant increase in passenger delivery volume of long-distance trains. This was the result of the opening of a number of long distance train routes in 2012 and 2013, including that of Guangzhou-Yantai. In addition, Guangzhou-Shenzhen inter-city trains implemented a new train schedule from December 21, 2012 that increased the number of trains and hence contributed to an increase in the passenger delivery volume. Further, more travelers chose to travel to Hong Kong and Macau by the Canton-Kowloon Through Trains due to continuous appreciation of the Renminbi and the installation of more comfortable trains from December 21, 2012 for the Canton-Kowloon Through Trains.

Freight tonnage (outbound and inbound) was 59.5564 million tonnes during the Year, down 4.97% year-on-year mainly due to sluggish market demand for bulk goods such as metal ores, non-metal ores and coal arising from slower domestic economic growth and the State's increasing effort to restructure the industry. Moreover, part of the freight volume of Guangzhou Port was diverted to Gaolan Port, Zhuhai upon the opening and operation of GZR. The freight transportation business was RMB 1,603 million, up 19.28% year-on-year. The increase in revenue was mainly due to the implementation of reform of freight transportation organization for railways across the PRC in June 2013 (under which the Company has undertaken some of the freight transportation business and assets previously operated by the Guangzhou Branch Company of China Railway Express and the Dalang Handling Station of China Railway Container) as well as an increase of RMB 1.5 cents in average transportation cost of railway freight transportation across the PRC from February 20, 2013.

Revenue from railway network usage and services and other transportation related services rose 2.95% year-on-year to RMB 5,035 million. This was mainly due to an increase in railway operation services provided by the Company, related to increased train frequency of GZIR, WGPR and GSHER, as well as new railway operation services provided to GZR and XSR.

Looking ahead to 2014, the Company said, "In the long term, the railway transportation industry is expected to undergo a new period of development, where the capacity for railway passenger and freight transportation will grow. As the PRC maintains stable growth, the State's high-speed railway network, with four East-West Lines and four South-North Lines and numerous inter-city railways, will complete its construction and commence operation. The marketization reform of the railway industry will also be intensified. Further, the competitive structure of the railway transportation industry is expected to undergo substantial changes in the future, with more intense competition not only from other industries such as highway, aviation and water transportation industries, but also within the industry itself.

"Under the sound leadership of the Board, the Company will leverage the historic opportunity of extensive railway construction and proactively adapt to the railway system reforms, to establish a steadfast foothold in the Pan Pearl River Delta. Further, the Company will enhance its business portfolio centered around railway passengers and freight transportation, complemented by the railway-related businesses. With an eye to become a top-notch railway transportation services enterprise in the PRC of increased scale and enhanced strengths, the Company will also focus on improving service quality as well as management innovation and technology innovation."

With respect to its passenger transportation business, the Company will strive to enhance the operational plan of Guangzhou-Shenzhen inter-city passenger trains, to expedite the construction of the Pinghu inter-city passenger transportation station. It will spare no effort to further explore new growth opportunities for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity passenger trains. The Company will also fully leverage on the transportation potential of Dongguan station and Shenzhen East station to enhance the operational plan of long-distance trains in the Dongguan and Shenzhen regions, step up marketing for the passenger transportation services of the Canton-Kowloon Through Trains in response to rising numbers of Mainland visitors to Hong Kong, improve the hardware for passenger transportation services as well as raise the quality of passenger transportation services to cater to travelers' needs.

With respect to freight transportation, the Company will step up the reforms of freight transportation organization to promote the expansion of a fully open and demand-oriented freight business, which is driven by logistics and a market-centric orientation. The Company will also identify emerging freight transportation markets and improve the competitiveness of the railway on the high value-added freight transportation market.

For the 2013 Annual Results Main Accounting Data, please visit: http://photos.prnasia.com/prnk/20140327/8521401803

About Guangshen Railway Company Limited

Guangshen Railway Company Limited was established in March 1996. The H shares and ADS issued by the Company were listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and the New York Stock Exchange in May 1996. In December 2006, the Company returned to the A share market and successfully listed its shares on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Company is currently the only PRC railway enterprise with its shares listed on the Shanghai, Hong Kong and New York stock exchanges. The Company is engaged in the railway passenger business between Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Pingshi, providing Guangzhou-Shenzhen inter-city train service, long-distance passenger transportation service, freight transportation service, and the Hong Kong Through Train passenger service in cooperation with MTR Corporation in Hong Kong, as well as entrustment transportation service for other domestic railway companies. As at December 31, 2013, the Company operated 229 pairs of passenger trains in accordance with its daily train schedules, including 105 pairs of Guangzhou-Shenzhen trains (includes 19.5 pairs of spare trains), 13 pairs of Hong Kong Through Trains (Canton-Kowloon Through Train: 11 pairs, Zhaoqing-Kowloon Through Train: 1 pair and Beijing (Shanghai)-Kowloon Trough Train: 1 pair), and 111 pairs of long-distance trains.

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SOURCE Guangshen Railway Company Limited