Each hand distributes 107 yuan! China International Trade's generous dividend, expected revenue and total profit still decline year-over-year by 2026.

Ask AI · Why does China World Trade Center insist on a high dividend payout strategy when performance is under pressure?

Every Daily reporter: Wen Duo Every Daily editor: Wei Weny

With property in the core location of Beijing CBD (Central Business District), China World Trade Center (SH600007, stock price 21.10 yuan, market value 21.254 billion yuan) has turned in a somewhat pressured annual performance report.

After the market closed on April 1, China World Trade Center disclosed its 2025 annual report. For the full year, the company achieved operating revenue of 3.77 billion yuan, down 3.63% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.202 billion yuan, down 4.76% year-on-year.

During the reporting period, both the company’s core office building and hotel business faced challenges. Among them, the average office rent fell from 639 yuan per square meter per month to 609 yuan per square meter per month, and the gross profit margin of hotel operations also dropped from 7.27% to 5.17%. In its annual report, the company said that the Beijing office market has weak incremental demand, and competition in high-end hotels has continued to intensify.

Against the backdrop of declining performance and a challenging market environment, China World Trade Center sticks to a “high dividend” strategy. The company’s board proposed that it will distribute a cash dividend of 10.7 yuan (including tax) for every 10 shares to all shareholders, totaling about 1.078 billion yuan in cash dividends, with a dividend payout ratio of 89.64% of net profit attributable to shareholders.

Meanwhile, the company made a relatively cautious forecast for its 2026 performance, expecting both revenue and total profit to decline.

Office rent falls, hotel gross profit margin drops to 5.17%

China World Trade Center’s core businesses mainly include leasing and management of investment properties such as office buildings, shopping malls, and apartments, as well as hotel operations. Its subsidiary, the China World Center, is a landmark commercial complex located in Beijing’s Central Business District (CBD). However, in 2025, all of these businesses felt the chill in the market.

Financial data shows that in 2025, China World Trade Center achieved operating revenue of 3.77 billion yuan, down 3.63% from 3.912 billion yuan in 2024; net profit attributable to shareholders was 1.202 billion yuan, down 4.76% from 1.262 billion yuan in the previous year.

Image source: China World Trade Center 2025 annual report

Behind the performance decline is the operational pressure facing the company’s core business segments. As the foundation of China World Trade Center’s income, the property leasing and management business generated 3.276 billion yuan in revenue for the year, down 3.27% year-on-year.

Among them, the office building business is the main drag. During the reporting period, China World Trade Center’s average office rent fell from 639 yuan per square meter per month in the previous year to 609 yuan per square meter per month; the average occupancy rate also edged down from 93.1% in the previous year to 91.8%. The company’s revenue composition table shows that the office business generated 1.416 billion yuan in revenue for the year, down by about 95.5413 million yuan year-on-year.

Image source: China World Trade Center 2025 annual report

Hotel operations also faced challenges. In 2025, China World Trade Center’s hotel operating revenue was 494 million yuan, down 5.98% year-on-year. What is even more noteworthy is the decline in profitability: the hotel business’s gross profit margin fell from 7.27% in 2024 by 2.1 percentage points to 5.17%.

In its annual report, China World Trade Center analyzed that in 2025, incremental demand for Beijing office space remained weak, and rental levels remained under pressure; the hotel industry faced challenges including market segmentation and insufficient demand, with competition in high-end hotels continuing to intensify. However, the company also emphasized that through flexible operating measures, its core performance indicators still remained better than the market and the average level across the region.

Forecast for 2026: operating revenue and total profit both down year-on-year

Despite the performance decline, China World Trade Center still decided to reward shareholders with a large dividend payout. The company plans to distribute a cash dividend of 10.7 yuan (including tax) per 10 shares to all shareholders, totaling about 1.078 billion yuan in cash dividends. This total dividend amount accounts for nearly 90% of that year’s net profit attributable to shareholders, reaching 89.64%.

Image source: China World Trade Center 2025 annual report

On the other side of the high dividend payout is China World Trade Center’s cautious expectations for the future market. In its operating plan, the company forecast that in 2026 it expects to achieve operating revenue of 3.61 billion yuan and total profit of 1.45 billion yuan. Both of these key indicators are lower than the actual figures completed in 2025 (operating revenue 3.77 billion yuan, total profit 1.605 billion yuan).

In its “Industry Structure and Trends” analysis, the company said it expects that in 2026 the overall office market will remain weak, with significant pressure on de-stocking in areas such as the CBD; the commercial retail property market will see increasing differentiation, with an overall downward trend; and the hotel market will face even more intense competition and differentiation.

It is worth noting that ahead of the release of the annual report, China World Trade Center went through a series of top personnel changes. From November 2025 to January 2026, the company completed personnel adjustments for key positions such as the chairman, vice chairman, and deputy general manager one after another. How the new management team will lead China World Trade Center in responding to market challenges is worth ongoing attention.

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