Performance reaches a new high, but the control rights face unexpected changes! Chifeng Gold Chairman's Annual Report "Reflection": After shedding the benefits of rising gold prices, how substantial is the intrinsic growth?

Ask AI · Why did Li Jinyang choose to step down during the peak of performance?

By Daily Economic News reporter: Xu Shuai    Editor: Huang Sheng

On the evening of March 20, Chifeng Gold (SH600988) released its annual report for last year, turning in its best historical performance with revenue of 12.6 billion yuan and a net profit surge of 75%.

However, before the “strongest annual report” was unveiled, Chifeng Gold had already seen a shift in control. The company’s actual controller, Li Jinyang, was planning to transfer the shares she holds. The widow who inherited the founder’s estate only four years ago chose “graceful retreat” during the peak period of performance. At this sensitive moment, it was difficult for outsiders to gauge her true intentions. But in last year’s annual report, it was rare to see Chairman Wang Jianhua conduct a systematic summary of the past few years, with some wording that was more emotional and directly addressed problems. Among the “golden lines” he mentioned were: “If the dividend from gold price gains is stripped away, what exactly is the quality of organic growth?” He emphasized that “dwelling on past achievements is unhelpful for solving future problems.”

Net profit jumped 74.7%, and Chifeng Gold published its “strongest annual report”

On the evening of March 20, Chifeng Gold, a leading gold company with a market value exceeding 700 billion yuan, disclosed its 2025 annual report. This annual report could be called the company’s “strongest annual report” since it was established.

In 2025, Chifeng Gold achieved operating revenue of 12.639 billion yuan, up 40.03% year over year. Net profit attributable to shareholders of listed company was 3.082 billion yuan, up 74.70% from 1.764 billion yuan in the same period last year.

By industry, in its core mining business, operating revenue was 12.412 billion yuan, and gross margin was 53.60%, up 8.62 percentage points from the prior year. Among them, mineral gold performed particularly strongly, achieving operating revenue of 11.339 billion yuan and gross margin of 58.51%, up sharply by 11.55 percentage points year over year. On the cost side, in 2025, the all-in sustaining cost (AISC) for mineral gold was 372.63 yuan per gram, up 32.52% from the same period last year.

As of the end of 2025, the company’s total asset size reached 24.981 billion yuan, up 22.89% from the beginning of the year. Benefiting from operating accumulation and funds raised through the HK stock market, the company’s asset-liability ratio fell significantly—from 47.25% at the start of the year to 33.91%, down 13.34 percentage points. The balance of interest-bearing liabilities was approximately 878 million yuan, down 67.45% from the beginning of the year. Net cash flow from operating activities was 5.556 billion yuan, up 69.97%.

Of the company’s main business revenue, about 71.20% came from overseas mines. Among overseas regions, revenue was 8.988 billion yuan, with gross margin of 45.85%; for domestic regions, revenue was 3.635 billion yuan, with gross margin of 68.93%.

In 2025, Chifeng Gold achieved double growth in both retained resources and reserves. As of December 31, 2025, Chifeng Gold’s retained gold resources reached 512 tons, up 31% from the end of 2024. Gold reserves were 105.76 tons, up 41% year over year. In terms of production, in 2024, Chifeng Gold produced 15.16 tons of mineral gold, ranking fifth nationwide. However, since the annual reports of other listed gold enterprises have not yet been released, Chifeng Gold’s ranking last year has not yet been determined.

Returning to the tasks mentioned in last year’s annual report, in 2026 the company’s target for gold production and sales volume is 14.7 tons, and the electrolytic copper target is 1.1 million tons. The company emphasized that 2026 is a key year for laying the foundation for a production jump from 2028 to 2030.

Actual controller had already planned to exit before the annual report was released

While Chifeng Gold’s operating performance hit a historical high, its actual controller chose to step down during the surge period. Before Chifeng Gold released last year’s annual report, the company’s stock was suspended. Li Jinyang and her parties acting in concert were planning to transfer their shares in the company; this matter may lead to a change in control.

Li Jinyang is 43 years old. She is the widow of Zhao Meiguang, the founder of Chifeng Gold, and both came from Jilin City, Jilin Province. In December 2021, Zhao Meiguang passed away due to illness at the age of 59. All her estate was inherited solely by Li Jinyang, and the company’s actual controller was subsequently changed to Li Jinyang.

As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, Li Jinyang and parties acting in concert held 12.73% of Chifeng Gold’s shares in total. Based on the 776 billion yuan market value before the trading suspension, the value of this stake was approximately 9.87 billion yuan.

In fact, Li Jinyang has been relatively less involved in Chifeng Gold’s day-to-day operating affairs. She has long emphasized fully cooperating with the management team led by Chairman Wang Jianhua and complying with the company’s strategic development plan. From the time she inherited the equity, she conveyed a strong desire to exit. Just three months after becoming the de facto controller, in March 2022, Li Jinyang signed a share transfer agreement with a trust plan. She planned to transfer 5.77% of the shares at 16.79 yuan per share. She stated that this would optimize the equity structure, introduce strategic investors, and raise funds to repay debts.

Chairman mentioned “strip away the dividend from gold price gains—what is the true quality of organic growth?”

Since the 2024 annual report, Chifeng Gold has added a section for the chairman’s remarks. Compared to the previous year, the 2025 remarks are more emotional and include more reflections on the past years.

In the 2024 annual report, Chairman Wang Jianhua focused on outlining the team’s organizational logic and the interest distribution mechanism. He briefly introduced the core team members who contributed to the company’s achievements and shared the vision and philosophy they upheld.

At that time, he emphasized that the company has always been committed to “making all owners, operators, and workers work together and share the results,” and has continuously promoted employee shareholding to ensure that value creators participate in capital returns. He proposed that the management team should adhere to the principles of “no special privileges and no power-related benefits,” prioritizing the highest treatment for frontline workers, and fostering internal leaders to become true entrepreneurs.

In the 2025 annual report, Wang Jianhua repeatedly mentioned “releasing goodwill” in his remarks, viewing it as the greatest certainty for handling external uncertainties. He clearly stated: “All changes within the company will revolve around this management main line: ‘release goodwill, everything for people.’”

Regarding organizational governance, he openly expressed his rejection of bureaucratic practices and firmly denied “cold privilege”: “The company’s management philosophy is about allowing the team to fully release goodwill, despising cold privilege. Senior executives have long been on the front lines of the mines, eating and living with miners, and strictly implementing audits and supervision of personal expenses.” He emphasized that only when integrity and righteousness become normal and habitual can the company become a long-term worthy investment.

Chifeng Gold’s net profit in 2025 reached a historic high, but during this performance surge, Wang Jianhua demonstrated deep crisis awareness and systematic self-reflection.

In his remarks, he reflected: if the dividend from gold price gains is stripped away, what is the true quality of our organic growth? He warned the team that dwelling on past achievements does not help solve future problems, and in 2026, the company still faces many challenges such as geopolitical risks, resource competition, and cost control.

He reaffirmed the “invest only in gold” strategy established at the end of 2019, aiming to build a focused, professional gold mining company. He reflected that divesting non-mining assets at that time was a “decisive move,” but it was precisely this resolve to “do the right long-term things” that allowed the company to align with today’s gold price trend and prepare for larger fluctuations ahead. “Without extraordinary efficiency and benefit improvements, it’s just coping; only significant changes show that you have truly committed and worked hard.”

He concluded by stating that the company will continue to strive to significantly improve operating performance, increase miners’ compensation, boost cash dividends, and share development results with shareholders and workers.

Public information shows that Wang Jianhua was born in 1956, holds a master’s degree in business administration, and is a senior economist. His career is highly distinguished; he has led multiple top enterprises in the industry.

Early in his career, Wang Jianhua served as general manager and Party secretary of a Shandong silk import and export company. After entering the mining industry, he served as chairman and Party secretary of Shandong Gold Group Co., Ltd. After retiring in 2013, he was appointed director and president of Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd. (June 2013 to December 2016), and then served as chairman of Yunnan Baiyao Holding Co., Ltd. (April 2017 to May 2018). In September 2018, Wang Jianhua joined Chifeng Gold as a director and has served as chairman since December 2019.

Daily Economic News