Financial Highlights

• Total revenue amounted to RMB3041.5 million for the year ended 31 December 2019, increasing by approximately 22.1% from RMB2491.5 million in the previous year.
• Flexible staffing as the largest business segment grew by 26.4% year-on-year mainly driven by fast growth in Mainland China, contributing 88.3% of the Group’s total revenue.
• Adjusted profit attributable to owners of the Company from continuing operations was RMB135.0 million, increasing by approximately 19.3% year-on-year from RMB113.2 million of the previous year and beating market consensus by around 10%.
• With strong cashflow management capability, the Group saw its net operating cashflow rising significantly to RMB111.2 million, up 41.6% year-on-year. As of 31 December 2019, the cash and bank deposits of the Company amounted to RMB944.7 million, an increase of 86.7% from last year. The strong cash position could serve as a buffer for the company against the downside risk of macroeconomic uncertainties.
• The Board recommended the payment of a final dividend of HKD0.27 per share for the year ended 31 December 2019, representing a dividend payout ratio of around 45%.

【26 March 2020 – Hong Kong】ManpowerGroup Greater China Limited (“ManpowerGroup Greater China” or together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”; stock code: 2180.HK) is pleased to announce its annual results today for the 12 months ended 31 December 2019 (“Review Period”).

On 10 July 2019, ManpowerGroup Greater China was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as the spin-off of the Greater China business from ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN). The Group has thereon entered a new phase of development operating independently with focus on the human resources markets in the Greater China region. During the Review Period, the Group recorded total revenue of RMB3041.5 million, increasing by 22.1% year-on-year. From 2016-2019, the Group has achieved revenue growth CAGR of 23.3%, demonstrating its capability to consistently maintain fast yet stable growth. During the reporting period, the Group’s revenue from its largest business segment of flexible staffing increased by 26.4% to RMB2685.2 million, mainly driven by fast growth in Mainland China, and contributing 88.3% of the Group’s total revenue as the end of 2019. Adjusted profit attributable to the owners of the Company from continuing operations amounted to RMB135.0 million, up by 19.3% year on year, and beating market consensus by around 10%. The Board recommended the payment of a final dividend of HK0.27 per share for the year ended 31 December 2019, representing a dividend payout ratio of around 45%.

Fast and stable growth of flexible staffing business driven by the Mainland China market

Despite the escalating social unrest in Hong Kong during the last year and the challenging macroeconomic environment amid structural slowdown and the US-China trade war, which has suppressed short-term demands for some of the Group’s services, the Group still recorded fast and stable growth of its flexible staffing business in 2019 thanks to the rapid growth of the sector at its early booming stage and strong momentum in the Mainland China and Taiwan markets, where the Group had further increased investment in 2019 to expand its business scale. Driven by the fast expansion of the Mainland China team, total number of associates placed in the Greater China region increased by approximately 9.7% from 31000 in 2018 to around 34000 in 2019, among which the total number of associates placed in Mainland China grew significantly by 65%. The Group believes that it will continue to benefit from the industry growth with the support from its strong global brand name and leading market position.

Further business development in the New Economy & Technology sector; Strong cash position as a buffer against macroeconomic uncertainties

The Group has been strengthening its business development in the New Economy & Technology sector in addition to increasing the revenue contribution from existing clients. As of the end of 2019, the number of clients from the New Economy & Technology sector, to which all of the Group’s top five clients belong, increased by 39.4% YoY. The Group further deepened its relationship with existing clients with revenue contribution from top five clients increasing by 44.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the relevant year, the Group’s top five clients accounted for around 27% of its total revenue. In addition, the Group has demonstrated strong cashflow management capability by significantly increasing its net operating cashflow to RMB111.2 million, up 41.6% compared with last year; Cash and bank deposits increased by 86.7% YOY to RMB944.7 million, which could serve as a buffer against macroeconomic uncertainties.

More technology platform investment to develop further competitive advantage

The Group expects to accelerate its technology investment in 2020 with focus on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technology, big data analysis and platformization to develop its core recruitment capability for all of its business lines. Key products of its technology platform include a mobile-based talent portal (天天U才) and a crowdsourcing recruitment platform (天天U單) with the concept of flexible staffing. Moreover, the Company will accelerate the development and monetization of the flexible staffing service platform, and at the same time will launch a one-stop employee service and development platform (天天U福) and a HR SaaS platform for remoting working. Last but not the least, the Group will continue to develop its training and upskilling platforms including the training SaaS platform and “WoSkill” platform which specialises in professional skills.

Looking forward, the Group believes that 2020 is a year full of opportunities and challenges. Given the worldwide outbreak of the novel coronavirus coupled with uncertainties in global economy and volatility in financial market, the short- term demand for the Group’s services might be impacted. However, the extensive opportunities in the flexible staffing industry and the rising popularity among corporates and entrepreneurs during the quarantine period when the work-from-home policy was widely adopted, will accelerate the penetration of flexible staffing arrangements as a relatively new HR service in the market, and could drive the future growth of the Group.

Yuan Jianhua, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Group, said “We are very confident about the growth potential of the flexible staffing industry. The Group’s leading market position in the Greater China region, together with its strong cashflow management capability, sufficient cash reserve, and further competitive advantage of our technology platform, will help us take full advantage of the growth potential of the human resources market in the Greater China region.”

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About ManpowerGroup Greater China
ManpowerGroup Greater China Limited (“ManpowerGroup Greater China” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”, stock code: 2180.HK), is the largest workforce solutions provider in the Greater China Region by 2018 revenue. The Group provides comprehensive workforce solutions and other HR services to clients located in in Greater China, including Mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The Group’s services, namely, flexible staffing, headhunting, RPO and other HR services, are aimed at complementing clients’ business models throughout the different stages of the relevant industry lifecycles. The Group’s largest stakeholder, ManpowerGroup Inc., is a New York Stock Exchange-listed Fortune 500 company and is a global leader in workforce solutions and services with a long operating history of over 70 years and a network of nearly 2,600 offices.