Full-Year Sales Fall 23.9% to 32.3 Billion RMB
China Merchants Land (00978.HK) reported total contracted sales of approximately 32.31 billion RMB for the full year ending December 31, 2023. This represents a significant 23.91% decrease compared to the previous year. The sales were generated from a total gross floor area of approximately 1.30 million square meters, translating to an average selling price of 24,918 RMB per square meter for the year.
Q4 Decline Accelerates with 54% Sales Collapse
The developer's performance deteriorated sharply in the final three months of the year. For the period from October 1 to December 31, 2023, contracted sales plummeted by 53.96% year-over-year to just 6.65 billion RMB. This steepening downturn highlights the intense headwinds facing China's real estate sector as buyer confidence remains weak.
Pricing Power Erodes in Final Quarter
Further evidence of market distress appeared in the company's pricing. The average selling price during the fourth quarter fell to approximately 22,004 RMB per square meter, based on a contracted sales area of 302,018 square meters. This figure is notably lower than the full-year average, indicating that the company faced increasing pricing pressure to secure sales as the year concluded.
