Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd. (Zhejiang Expressway) reported solid top-line growth for the three months ended 31 March 2026, but rising costs and finance expenses compressed margins and led to a decline in earnings attributable to shareholders.
Revenue and Profitability • Revenue rose 21.9% year-on-year to RMB 5.32 billion, driven by higher traffic and interest income under the effective-interest method, which climbed 37.9% to RMB 0.84 billion.
• Gross profit increased 8.9% to RMB 2.07 billion; however, the gross margin narrowed to 39.0% from 43.6% a year earlier as operating costs accelerated 32.1% to RMB 3.25 billion.
• Group profit for the period grew 3.4% to RMB 2.04 billion. Profit before tax reached RMB 2.55 billion, up 3.5%.
• Net profit attributable to owners of the Company fell 11.3% to RMB 1.31 billion, reflecting a larger contribution from non-controlling interests (up 47.0% to RMB 0.73 billion). Basic and diluted EPS declined to RMB 21.83 cents from RMB 24.68 cents.
Operating Highlights • Securities investment gains advanced 9.5% to RMB 0.50 billion, continuing to support earnings diversification.
• Administrative expenses doubled to RMB 33.11 million, and finance costs rose 17.4% to RMB 0.44 billion, weighing on margins.
• Share of profit from associates and joint ventures decreased 6.3% to RMB 0.33 billion.
Comprehensive Income Other comprehensive income swung to a gain of RMB 0.26 billion (Q1 2025: loss of RMB 0.23 billion), mainly due to fair-value gains on equity and debt instruments. As a result, total comprehensive income surged 31.8% to RMB 2.31 billion.
Cash Flow and Liquidity • Operating activities consumed RMB 3.30 billion in cash, reversing an inflow of RMB 1.09 billion a year earlier, largely due to working-capital changes.
• Investing outflows narrowed to RMB 2.47 billion (Q1 2025: RMB 3.89 billion).
• Financing inflows jumped to RMB 7.08 billion, underpinning a RMB 1.30 billion increase in cash and cash equivalents to RMB 24.85 billion at quarter-end.
Balance-Sheet Snapshot (31 Mar 2026) • Total assets reached RMB 318.07 billion, up 6.1% from end-2025.
• Current ratio stood at 1.30× (end-2025: 1.32×), with current assets of RMB 233.17 billion and current liabilities of RMB 179.48 billion.
• Net assets attributable to owners edged up 2.7% to RMB 51.75 billion, while non-controlling interests increased to RMB 43.61 billion.
Outlook Management commentary was not included in the announcement. The board stated that the audit committee has reviewed the unaudited results.
All figures are derived solely from the company’s first-quarter 2026 results announcement dated 30 April 2026.