---
title: "While Wang Jianlin is desperately repaying debts for Wanda, Country Garden suddenly turned a profit?"
type: "News"
locale: "en"
url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/281272916.md"
description: "In the winter of the real estate industry, Country Garden unexpectedly turned a profit, becoming the first leading real estate company to achieve profitability. The 2025 financial report shows that Country Garden's revenue was 154.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 38.72%, but the net profit attributable to shareholders improved from -32.84 billion yuan to 3.261 billion yuan. Although the stock price fluctuated due to non-cash gains from debt restructuring, the market remains cautious about its sustainability. Country Garden's interest-bearing debt is 148 billion yuan, lower than other giants, indicating a relatively good financial condition"
datetime: "2026-04-01T00:31:14.000Z"
locales:
  - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/281272916.md)
  - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/281272916.md)
  - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/281272916.md)
---

# While Wang Jianlin is desperately repaying debts for Wanda, Country Garden suddenly turned a profit?

The real estate industry, which has been in a cold winter, has finally received good news. Domestic real estate giant Country Garden has unexpectedly turned a profit, becoming the first leading real estate company in the industry to do so.

On March 30, Country Garden released its 2025 financial report, showing a revenue of 154.9 billion yuan. Although this represents a year-on-year decline of 38.72%, the net profit attributable to shareholders increased from a loss of 32.84 billion yuan in the same period last year to 3.261 billion yuan. This marks the first profit for Country Garden in the past four years, following a loss of 217.292 billion yuan. After a deep adjustment in the industry, Country Garden has fired the first shot in the turnaround of leading real estate companies.

The day after announcing its turnaround performance forecast on March 23, the stock price rose by 6.67%, and on March 25, it rose another 6.25%. However, on March 26, due to the mandatory conversion of convertible bonds, 3.9856 million new shares were issued at a price of 2.6 Hong Kong dollars per share, causing the stock price to drop by 4.41%. On March 27, the stock price fell again by 1.52%.

The capital market's attitude towards Country Garden may stem from the fact that its turnaround primarily comes from non-cash gains related to debt restructuring. Country Garden pointed out in its announcement that the core reason for its turnaround from loss to profit is the non-cash gains recorded from the completion of debt restructuring. Excluding restructuring gains, it still reported a loss. The turnaround in performance mainly relies on non-recurring gains, while the main business remains under pressure, and the market still holds a wait-and-see attitude towards its sustainability.

## **Debt Restructuring Helped Significantly**

With a revenue of 154.9 billion yuan, down nearly 40%, the net profit stands at 3.261 billion yuan, while the gross profit margin has been negative for three consecutive years, with a gross profit margin of -27.84% in 2025. After three consecutive years of negative net profit, it finally turned positive in 2025 at 1.05%. Upon closer inspection, the significant decline in revenue, negative gross profit margin, and the shift from negative to positive net profit may seem puzzling. This brings us to the topic of debt restructuring.

Like other leading real estate companies, Country Garden also has high debt levels. Previously, the long-standing top four real estate companies—Evergrande, Vanke, Country Garden, and Sunac China—had total debts at the end of 2025 of 2.44 trillion yuan, 835.56 billion yuan, 767.9 billion yuan, and 805.94 billion yuan, respectively. Among these four giants, Country Garden has the lowest debt, with interest-bearing debt of only 148 billion yuan, while the other three have interest-bearing debts of 624.77 billion yuan for Evergrande, 362.9 billion yuan for Vanke, and 188.26 billion yuan for Sunac China Country Garden's interest-bearing liabilities account for only 19.3% of its total liabilities, while Evergrande, Vanke, and Sunac China account for 25.6%, 43.4%, and 23.4%, respectively, making Country Garden the only leading real estate company with an interest-bearing liability ratio below 20%.

By the end of 2025, Country Garden's total liabilities will be 767.9 billion yuan, significantly reduced by 216.7 billion yuan from 984.6 billion yuan at the end of 2024. Among them, the interest-bearing liabilities at the end of 2025 will be 148 billion yuan, down 105.5 billion yuan from 253.5 billion yuan at the end of 2024, a decrease of 42%. The low level of interest-bearing liabilities makes it easier and more likely for Country Garden to carry out debt restructuring. In 2025, Country Garden will vigorously promote debt restructuring both domestically and internationally, with an overseas debt restructuring plan of approximately 17.7 billion USD approved, which officially took effect on December 30, 2025, and new debt and equity instruments have been issued. The domestic restructuring has also been successfully implemented, with cash buybacks, stock, and general creditor options to be initiated in sequence. Currently, a cash buyback program with a cap of 450 million yuan has been initiated, expected to be completed by April. With the completion of the debt restructuring and a significant reduction of over 100 billion yuan in interest-bearing liabilities, financial risks have been significantly cleared, marking the best financial condition in four years.

Yan Yujin, vice president of the Shanghai E-House Real Estate Research Institute, believes that Country Garden's restructuring and debt conversion into profit is a positive signal. Even non-cash gains are not easy to achieve. In his view, Country Garden's turnaround performance is closely related to the accounting effects brought by debt restructuring. The restructuring allows the company to achieve a turnaround on paper, which has a positive impact on capital market operations, daily operations, and corporate image.

Country Garden's debt restructuring process has been exceptionally smooth, with all nine domestic debt restructuring plans, totaling approximately 13.77 billion yuan, having been approved. The overseas debt restructuring plan, involving approximately 17.7 billion USD, also officially took effect on December 30, 2025. The overall debt reduction scale is estimated to be nearly 90 billion yuan, and the financing cost of new debt after restructuring has dropped sharply to 1% to 2.5%, allowing Country Garden to lighten its burden and seize a critical window for the next five years. Completing the debt restructuring by the end of 2025 has resulted in a turnaround into profit.

## **Why Recall Dismissed "Veterans"?**

Country Garden previously had over 130,000 employees as a super real estate company. At the end of 2018, the total number of employees was 131,387. After the real estate industry cooled in 2019, by the end of 2020, the total number of employees at Country Garden had dropped to 93,899, a nearly 30% decrease in just two years. In 2021, the number of employees at Country Garden briefly rebounded, with a year-on-year increase of 7.2%, bringing the total number back over 100,000 to 100,700. However, in the following three years, the number decreased year-on-year by 57.2%, 47.1%, and 21.4%, respectively, reducing the total number of employees to 17,920 by mid-2025 Compared to 2018, the number of employees has decreased by 113,467, with an overall reduction of 86%.

According to Yicai, Country Garden recently released the "Reemployment Management Measures for Resigned Employees," aiming for a "large-scale recall of veterans." It stated that this reemployment management measure was formulated "to ensure the orderly advancement of business, matching the development pace of the company's recovery phase and the demands for new project development." The formulation of this "Reemployment Management Measures for Resigned Employees" is quite detailed, specifying the tenure of reemployed personnel, duration of resignation, past performance, salary determination methods, and more.

Real estate analyst Wang Yiran believes that Country Garden's recall of "veterans" is a sign of business recovery, as "old employees are familiar with processes, culture, and project situations, allowing them to get started immediately. This can save a lot of costs; 'veterans' in any industry are valuable assets, which can eliminate high headhunting fees, training costs, and probation period expenses, prioritizing the recall of key personnel with over two years of tenure and historical performance ratings of S/A to quickly stabilize their foundational base."

Currently, Country Garden has hundreds of projects nationwide entering the final delivery sprint, with insufficient manpower for engineering, on-site management, and customer complaint handling. Old employees are familiar with project history, supply chains, government relations, and other workflows, and recalling these veterans can quickly resolve issues such as work stoppages, disputes, and rights protection. At the same time, Country Garden's recall of veterans is also to uphold the bottom line of delivery, avoiding issues such as homeowner rights protection, government accountability, and compliance risks due to management gaps. From 2022 to 2025, Country Garden is expected to deliver nearly 1.85 million units, ranking among the top in the industry.

Although Country Garden responded that this is not a large-scale recall, but rather a precise filling of key positions, it is a routine revision of the system, in reality, it is targeted, high-threshold, and small-batch reemployment, focusing on practical positions in engineering, cost, operations, development, and marketing. "Outstanding talent is the driving force for the company's sustainable development. The company's talent recruitment always revolves around actual business needs, selecting from multiple channels such as internal excellent talents, reemployment of outstanding employees, and external talent recruitment," Country Garden stated.

In the context where most real estate companies continue to lay off employees, Country Garden's ability to recall veterans against the trend indicates a gradual recovery of its business. It marks a shift from "amputating to survive" to "repairing operations" in talent replenishment, filling the core capability gap for delivery and restarting operations at the lowest cost and fastest speed.

Yan Yujin also believes that Country Garden's actions are a signal of a substantial shift in its operational focus after undergoing deep adjustments, as it is working to supplement its existing business strength and gradually entering the reconstruction phase of operational recovery.

## **From "Amputation" to Repair**

Although Country Garden is expected to turn a profit by 2025, there are still many concerns. Sales have plummeted sharply, with equity sales amounting to 33 billion yuan, a decrease of about 95% compared to the peak of 750 billion yuan in 2021, resulting in a significant shrinkage of market share In terms of the number of guaranteed deliveries, only 170,000 units will be delivered in 2025, the lowest in nearly three years, which also marks the completion of Country Garden's stock delivery tasks. During the same period, Country Garden has basically stopped acquiring land, focusing on revitalizing existing projects and ensuring deliveries. This indicates that its business has somewhat recovered, but it is still far from enough.

It is worth noting that Country Garden's cash flow remains tight, with cash and cash equivalents during the reporting period amounting to only approximately 6.362 billion yuan, and the available cash remains limited. Operating cash flow is still under pressure, but the financing pressure has significantly eased after debt restructuring, and short-term repayment risks have decreased. In 2025, Country Garden prioritizes "ensuring delivery, reducing debt, and controlling expenditures," with cash flow primarily allocated to ensuring delivery and debt compliance, which will inevitably lead to tight cash flow.

"Currently, Country Garden has not reached an operational turning point; sales, revenue, and gross profit are still declining, and the operational side has not materially repaired, remaining in a contraction phase. The expectation of turning a profit in 2025 has some exaggeration, as the reported profit is from non-cash restructuring gains and does not represent a recovery in operational capability. However, in 2026, Country Garden will shift from 'ensuring delivery and mitigating risks' to 'repairing operations and light asset expansion,' restarting some project developments and expanding light asset businesses such as urban renewal through entrusted construction. Additionally, it will initiate 'recalling veterans' to supplement core positions in engineering, operations, and marketing, preparing talent for operational recovery, which indicates that Country Garden is slowly recovering," Wang Yiran still gives sufficient affirmation to Country Garden's performance in 2025.

Compared to Country Garden's net profit of 3.261 billion yuan, Vanke suffered a huge loss of 82 billion yuan, and Sunac China also lost 12.33 billion yuan. Vanke has incurred losses exceeding 130 billion yuan for two consecutive years, while Sunac China has reported losses for five consecutive years, totaling 111.929 billion yuan over that period.

Country Garden's turnaround to profitability releases four key positive signals: financial clearing, risk bottoming out, credit repair, and operational restart, which are significant for both Country Garden and the entire industry. Currently, Country Garden's new bond interest rates are between 1%-2.5%, with a maximum term of 11 years, and there is no concentrated repayment pressure in the next five years, indicating substantial financial risk clearance.

Importantly, Country Garden's profitability restores investor confidence in the real estate industry, leading to a revaluation of the company, the emergence of a credit turning point, and the high approval of the restructuring plan, which is a key trust vote from creditors regarding the company's future, marking a shift in credit from "crisis" to "repair." The valuation recovery has begun, with inclusion in MSCI and FTSE Russell small-cap indices, increased southbound capital, and international investors starting to reprice, reversing the predicament As a leading private real estate enterprise, Country Garden has taken the lead in turning losses into profits, injecting a strong dose of confidence into the industry, improving the overall financing environment and market expectations for private real estate companies, and boosting industry confidence. This sends a positive signal to the entire industry, validating Country Garden's path of "debt restructuring + impairment clearance + ensuring delivery + operational recovery" through the market, providing a replicable model for other distressed real estate companies. At the same time, signals of bottoming out in the industry are strengthening, financial turning points are appearing for leading private enterprises, and coupled with policy support, the darkest period for the industry has passed, and the recovery cycle is about to begin.

**This article is an original piece by BT Finance and may not be used, copied, disseminated, or adapted without permission. Legal responsibility will be pursued for any infringement.**

Author | Meng Xiao

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