Zhongyuan Securities: Core business demonstrates resilient growth, with profitability reaching a recent high

Recently, Central China Securities (601375.SH) released its 2025 annual report to the public. During the full year, the company achieved operating revenue of CNY 1.963 billion, up 40.97%; attributable net profit to shareholders (Attributable to Parent) of CNY 456 million, up 85.41%; and net profit after deducting non-recurring items of CNY 475 million, up 126.19% year over year. During the reporting period, the company closely followed the fundamental purpose of serving the real economy through financial services, actively implemented major deployment decisions in the capital markets, including the new “Nine Provisions of the State” (new “国九条”), and saw steady improvement in operating quality and efficiency, continuous optimization of management effectiveness, and double-digit growth in both revenue and profit. Attributable net profit reached a new high in recent years, and the overall development exhibits a good momentum characterized by steady progress and simultaneous improvement in quality and efficiency.

Core businesses flourish in multiple areas

A value leap highlights a solid underlying foundation

Based on operating data across various segments, in 2025, Central China Securities’ wealth management business achieved revenue of CNY 1.056 billion in the reporting period, up 29.59%; its proprietary trading business generated revenue of CNY 160 million, turning sharply from loss to profit compared with the same period last year; its credit business achieved full-year revenue of CNY 462 million, up 12.21%; revenue from investment management business was CNY 171 million, up 10.96%; and revenue from investment banking business was CNY 19.7982 million. In 2025, segments including wealth management, proprietary trading, credit business, and investment management all showed significant growth, injecting momentum into the company’s business growth across the board.

In terms of specific businesses, during the reporting period, Central China Securities’ wealth management business actively followed the “Big Wealth” trend, integrating resources such as brokerage, asset management, and futures to build a “Wealth Central China” comprehensive service system covering the full customer lifecycle, achieving coordinated growth in both scale and quality. In the credit business, with the two-margin (margin trading and securities lending, i.e., margin financing and securities lending) scale breaking through CNY 10 billion, the company’s average daily customer assets increased by 30% compared with the end of last year. At the same time, in its asset management business, the investment returns of its fixed-income products continued to lead peer bank wealth-management products and publicly offered bond funds, winning the “Excellent Brokerage Fixed-Income Asset Management Plan Golden Zhenzi Award.” Its Shanghai proprietary trading business adheres to the “risk control first” philosophy, strengthens support for investment research, and scientifically optimizes equity-asset allocation to achieve steady returns. Overall, in 2025 the company’s main business segments all demonstrated strong growth resilience and operating vitality, laying a solid basic platform for its value growth.

Industry observers analyze that, from the industry perspective, in July 2025, the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee proposed “enhancing the appeal and inclusiveness of China’s domestic capital markets,” guiding medium- to long-term funds to enter the market and deepening reforms of investment and financing. Under the drive of top-level policy, trading activity in the A-share market and the wealth effect have improved significantly. As for the company itself, in recent years, Central China Securities has been led by its retail service brand “Wealth Central China” and its institutional service brand “Qihang Central China,” fully leveraging the integrated advantages of serving the regional full-chain capital market. Through “five major actions” such as specialized development, regional deep cultivation, integrated campaigns, digital transformation, and tackling weaknesses through targeted breakthroughs, it has formed an intensive operating model featuring characteristic precision and differentiated development. Relying on the A+H dual-listing platform, it has built a “window” and “intermediary” for connecting Henan’s regional economy with international capital markets. It coordinates the functions of domestic and overseas capital markets, strengthens the expansion of the Hong Kong subsidiary into the Henan market, and achieves high-quality development in providing customers with comprehensive services of “Mainland + Hong Kong.” Looking ahead, as reforms in the capital markets deepen, Central China Securities is expected to further strengthen the dual-driven pattern of wealth management and institutional services by leveraging regional resource endowments and advantages from its dual listings.

Rooted in Henan to empower real-economy development

Steady dividend payouts in return to shareholders

While its main-business operations develop at high speed, Central China Securities continues to implement financial services for the real economy and further strengthen its shareholder return mechanism.

In terms of serving the real economy through financial services, in 2025 Central China Securities closely followed the major requirements of “Two Highs and Four Focuses” (两高四着力), anchored the “1+2+4+N” goal and task framework for Henan, and continued to strengthen the function of being “a strategic carrier of Henan’s capital market,” while solidly carrying out the “five major articles” of financial work. During the reporting period, the company fully established the development philosophy of serving Henan, deepened the “trinity coordination” (three-way coordination) mechanism, and provided high-standard services to the regional capital market. It successively held brand events such as Henan’s “M&A Restructuring Conference,” the “Special Session for Overseas Financing Docking for Henan Enterprises,” and the “High-Quality Development Conference for the Bond Market,” and released the “Henan Capital Market White Paper” and the “Report on Mergers and Acquisitions and Restructuring of Henan Listed Companies.” It actively helped enhance the vitality of local capital markets, and its professional service capabilities have effectively promoted the allocation of financial resources to the real economy.

As for shareholder returns, the company has continued to deepen the “mid-term + annual” regular dividend policy mechanism. It is understood that on the day the annual report was released, Central China Securities announced its plan to pay all shareholders cash dividends of CNY 0.22 per 10 shares (including tax), totaling CNY 102 million. This is in addition to the interim dividends already paid. The total cash dividend for the whole year of 2025 is expected to reach CNY 139 million, fully demonstrating its firm intention to share the growth dividends with investors.

In response, some market participants said that in the future Central China Securities is expected to continue to strengthen the role of its strategic carrier function in Henan’s capital market, proactively integrate into the overall picture of regional development, and, relying on the advantages of its business network covering the entire province of Henan, actively connect with development resources brought by Henan’s status as a major economic province, a major population province, and its regional geographic resource endowments. While serving the high-quality development of the regional capital market, it will steadily advance upgrades to its own businesses. Meanwhile, the company is also expected to continue to adhere to a steady dividend strategy, improve its regular return mechanisms, and continuously enhance shareholders’ sense of gain as it drives improvements in business quality and efficiency. In doing so, it will contribute more to high-quality development of the regional economy and to value creation for shareholders.

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