IPO purchase suggestions:
Aihua Pledges is a financial services provider operating in Hong Kong. It mainly provides short-term secured financing, including pawnbroker loans and mortgage mortgages. The Group provides pawn loans and primary and secondary mortgages secured by personal property as collateral. Based on the amount of loans issued and the number of pawnshops, the Group was the largest pawnbroker service provider in Hong Kong in 2011. The total amount of pawn loans issued by the Group in 2011 accounted for about 9.4% of the total value of loans and advances issued by all pawn loan service operators in Hong Kong.
From 2007 to 2011, the number of pawn loan service operators and pawn shops in Hong Kong increased steadily at compound annual growth rates of about 0.3% and 1.1% respectively. The pawn loan industry is highly fragmented, and no single pawn loan service operator dominates the market. In 2011, there were about 150 pawn loan service operators operating 202 pawn shops in Hong Kong. Most pawn loan service operators have over 40 years of experience in the industry. Demand for pawnbroking loans continues among low-income people in Hong Kong (people with monthly income of less than HK$8,000, accounting for about 26.8% of the total employed population). Coupled with the increasing number of foreign domestic helpers and new immigrants from China, the Hong Kong pawnbroker market will remain optimistic. The value of loans and advances issued by pawnshops increased from about HK$4.274 billion in 2007 to about HK$5.438 billion in 2011, with a compound annual growth rate of about 6.2%. Despite the unstable economic situation, the value of loans and advances issued by pawnshops has increased steadily over the past few years. During the economic recession, the value of loans and advances issued by pawnshops increased by 10.1% in 2009 compared to about 4.0% in 2008. The total value of loans increased at around 6.5% in 2011 due to an increase in the number of foreign domestic helpers and mainland Chinese clients.
In the future, companies can expand their mortgage business because since the HKMA tightened the ratio of property mortgages, it has brought better business opportunities to both the industry and the company. As of the end of February 2012, Aihua's net profit for the year ended at the end of February 2012 was 333.76 million yuan, an increase of 41.5% over the previous year; however, the profit for the nine months ending November 30, 2012 was about 19.27 million yuan, a decrease of 22% over the previous year. The current financing scale was 100 million shares. After issuance, newly issued shares accounted for 25% of the total share capital (no overplacement option was exercised). For example, based on the ratio of the additional share capital issued to 25% of the total issued share capital, the prospectus price range is equivalent to the price-earnings ratio of 8.9-11.74 times in 2012, and the price-earnings ratio predicted to be 11.23-14.68 times in 2013. The valuation is reasonable. Considering Aihua's outstanding profitability and brand effects, we recommend careful purchasing.
