Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group annual results analyst presentation for the financial year 2019. Let me introduce the management on stage. They are Mr. Kent Wong, the Managing Director. Mr. Hamilton Cheng, the Executive Director. Hamilton is responsible for the financial management and corporate operations. Mr. Chan Sai-Cheong, the Executive Director. Mr. Chan is responsible for the Mainland China business. Mr. Peter Suen, the Executive Director. Peter is responsible for the Hong Kong, Macau, and overseas business. Mr. Bobby Liu, the Executive Director. Bobby is responsible for the sustainability and innovation projects. And Ms. Danita On, the Director of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications. Mr. Hamilton Cheng will present annual results, operational highlights, and financial review. Mr. Kent Wong will present our business update. Ms. Danita On will give the update on customer experience, customer relationship management, and e-commerce.
Finally, Mr. Kent Wong will conclude the presentation with the group's business outlook and strategies. After that, we will have the Q&A session. Now, may I invite Hamilton to present. Hamilton, please.
Thank you. Good evening, everyone. I am pleased to announce our annual results for the financial year 2019. The group enjoyed a vibrant growth in the first half, while the momentum moderated in the second half amid macro uncertainties. Revenue amounted to HKD 66.7 billion, increased by 12.7% year-on-year. Same-store sales in Mainland China and Hong Kong went up by 3.4% and 8.7% respectively.
Core operating profit surged 24.4% year-on-year, thanks to an increase in GP margin and operating leverage. Profit attributable to shareholders was up by 11.8% to HKD 4.6 billion, with a net foreign exchange loss of CNY 240 million resulted from renminbi depreciation, versus a net gain of CNY 340 million last year. Basic earnings per share totaled HKD 0.46. The board has proposed a final dividend of HKD 0.20 per share and a special dividend of HKD 0.30 per share to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Chow Tai Fook.
Dividend per share for the year totaled HKD 0.65. Excluding special dividend, payout ratio approximated 76.5% in the year. We opened a net of 549 POS in the year, bringing the total number of POS to 3,134 at the end of March. Net openings in Mainland China reached 539, while Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets had additions of two and eight POS respectively. Our effort to refresh and differentiate product offerings continued to show positive progress. For example, our high ASP collection, Chow Tai Fook Chuan Cheng, was well received by the young customers. It made up around 13% of gold product sales in the year, and ASP was at around HKD 14,000. At the same time, T MARK Diamond continued to extend its coverage.
As of March this year, there were a total of 543 counter s-in-shop and five specialty stores in this, and its RSV increased by more than 70% in both Mainland China and Hong Kong, Macau markets. Our e-commerce business in Mainland China grew 13.2% in the year, contributing to 4.8% in terms of RSV, and 13.6% of volume of our Mainland China business. Here is a summary of our income statement, and I will walk you through some key ratios. Adjusted GP margin was up by 70 basis points to 27.9% in the year, benefiting from like-for-like retail margin improvement, and an easier comp as we made a provision on diamond inventory last year. Yet it was partially offset by a less favorable product mix. SG&A expenses increased by 10.1% to HKD 12 billion. Thanks to operating leverage, SG&A ratio was lowered by 50 basis points to 18%.
Core operating profit, which excluded the impact of unrealized gain or loss on gold loans and foreign exchange, jumped 24.4%, and the margin was also expanded by 100 basis points to 10.5%. The group's revenue rose 12.7% during the year. Both reportable segments registered a strong growth in the first half. Yet the momentum slowed down in the second half as China-U.S. tension escalated. In Mainland China, revenue climbed 15.3%, mainly fueled by franchised POS openings. Its contribution to the group's revenue further expanded to 63.7% during the year. In Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets, revenue increased by 8.4% with a strong growth of 19% in the first half, but was flattish in the second half due to tough macro situations. A breakdown by products. All product categories recorded a positive growth, in which gold products demonstrated a relatively stronger performance.
As a result, its revenue contribution increased by 170 basis points to 61.1%. Here is a trend of same-store sales growth in the past eight quarters. The recovery track of same-store sales growth in both Mainland China and Hong Kong, Macau commenced since the second half of our FY 2017, and extended into the first half this year. We saw a dip in quarter three. However, business recovered gradually since early 2019, especially in Mainland China. Same-store sales growth in Mainland China was 3.4% this year, mainly driven by ASP improvement. Yet volume declined as customer traffic for some entry price items may have been diverted to online channels. Hong Kong, Macau delivered a same-store sales growth of 8.7% during the year, backed by both ASP and volume growth. An analysis by major products. For gold products, same-store sales growth in both markets was generally supported by gold products.
A strong double-digit ASP growth was recorded during the year. ASP was lifted by 13.2% in Mainland China, with particular thanks to the success of the Chow Tai Fook Chuan Cheng collection. In Hong Kong, Macau, ASP of gold products was also up by 11.6%. Yet gem- set jewelry same-store sales in Mainland China declined marginally by 1.4%, while ASP increased slightly to HKD 6,700. In Hong Kong, Macau, as consumer sentiment in high-end segment weakened as a result of the deteriorated macroeconomic situation, gem- set ASP declined, and same-store sales of gem- set jewelry turned negative in the year. An analysis of our operating profit and the margins. In Mainland China, on the left-hand side, thanks to the margin improvement and operating leverage, core operating profit growth accelerated in second half and leading to a 17% growth for the full year.
While in Hong Kong and other markets, business continued to recover and achieved a robust growth of 46.9% in operating profit. For the margins in Mainland China, adjusted GP margin grew slightly by 10 basis points to 28.8%. Product like-for-like margin at retail level improved, yet it was partially offset by a higher proportion of gold products and also a higher wholesale contribution.
Together with some operating leverage, COP margin slightly improved by 20 basis points to 11.8% in Mainland China. For Hong Kong, Macau, and other markets, adjusted GP margin expanded by 150 basis points to 26.3% as product like-for-like margin normalized and wholesale contribution reduced. Coupled with an improvement in SG&A ratio, COP margin increased by 210 basis points to 8.1% in the year. Here is an analysis of SG&A expenses. The group's SG&A expenses was up by 10.1% year-on-year. Thanks to operating leverage, SG&A ratio fell 50 basis points to 18%.
For the major expense items like staff cost, rental, and concessionaire fees, which together comprise nearly 70% of the total expenses, like in the past, I shall walk you through separately in the next two slides. Here, I will focus on A&P, where our advertising and promotion expenses ratio normalized to 1.1% as more resources have been put on increasing our brand's exposure and lifting the brand equity. We expect the ratio to stay at similar level in the coming year. While for other SG&A, which including bank charges for sales transaction settlement, royalties on licensing products, and diamond certificate expenses and packaging materials, which are largely variable in nature, this item stayed at a stable level as a percentage of revenue. Staff cost and related expenses was up by 11.7% in Mainland China and 13.9% in Hong Kong, Macau, respectively.
Increase in staff cost in Mainland China was generally in line with our business expansion, while Hong Kong, Macau was largely attributable to additional headcount for experienced specialists in various corporate functions so as to strengthen the group's capabilities for long-term growth. Rental and concessionaire fees. In Mainland China, concessionaire ratio edged down to 8.3% due to the shift of sales mix towards gold products. In Hong Kong, Macau, rental was down by 8.5% year-on-year, mainly due to the effect of rental reduction and store closures in the second half of our FY 2018. Rental ratio was lowered by 120 basis points to 4.9%. In the year, the average rental renewal reduction achieved was about 3% relative to the last contract, which was a combined effect of 13% reduction as stores and an increment of nearly 10% in shopping malls.
For the coming year, we believe that we will still be able to achieve a single-digit reduction in rental renewal. However, as we plan to expand selectively in Hong Kong, Macau, the total rental expenses is expected to increase by a low single digit in amount. Inventories. Inventory balances reached HKD 39 billion as of March this year, up 13% year-on-year, which is in line with our expansion strategy through a multi-brand and penetration into the lower tier cities. Inventory turnover period increased by three days year-on-year at 299 days. We anticipate that inventory balances will be up by 4%-5% by March next year, while inventory turnover period in the coming year should improve to about 290 days. CapEx. CapEx totaled HKD 1.4 billion this year. Major CapEx items were spent on our POS, covering new openings and renovation of our existing stores.
We expect the CapEx in the coming year will stay at a similar level, which is about HKD 1.5 billion in the FY 2020. The changes in our capital structure, the major changes other than the inventories that I just discussed, the other items are mainly bank borrowings and gold loans, which were up by HKD 2.1 billion and HKD 2.7 billion respectively, as inventory balances increased. Gold hedging ratio was 55% as of March this year. Net gearing ratio stood at 33% as of March this year. Return on equity for the year improved to 14.9% versus 12.3% last year, as the benefit of financial leverage kicked in. Lastly, cash flow. Operating cash flow before movements in working capital amounted to HKD 7.8 billion, an increase of 13% year-on-year. After cash used for inventories and CapEx, pro forma free cash flow was HKD 4.1 billion for the year.
Other major cash flow items include a more than HKD 2 billion increase in bank borrowings and HKD 6 billion used for the payment of dividends. As of March this year, the company's cash and bank stay at a healthy level of HKD 7.6 billion. Here is my presentation, and I turn over to Kent for the business development.
Okay, thank you, Hamilton. In Mainland China, we opened a net of 539 points of sale during FY 2019. In order to deepen market penetration in lower tier cities, our net openings of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery brand points of sale amount to 486 during this year, reaching totally 2,803 as of March 2019. This slide shows the retail sales value and distribution of points of sale network under Chow Tai Fook Jewellery brand, which contribute 90% of our RSV in Mainland China. We have been leveraging franchisee to deepen our market penetration in Mainland China. As such, the pace of expansion in Tier 3 and lower tier cities was speed up in FY 2019. Our RSV growth in the lower tier city like Tier 3 and others, reached 19% year-on-year, and it outperformed those in Tier 1 and Tier 2 during this year.
As at 31st March 2019, we had 54% of points of sale in self-operated format, and the rest of 46% was franchise. This year, approximately 77% of our openings was operated by franchisee. Self-operated points of sale at shopping mall demonstrate an encouraging RSV growth of 24%, as modernized shopping mall continue to be an attraction among the most affluent and sophisticated customer. In Mainland China, 486 Chow Tai Fook Jewellery brands were opened in FY 2019. Market penetration should continue over the next three to five years in lower tier cities, in particularly those at county level, through our franchise model in order to gain market share. In FY 2020, our net opening target in Mainland China is expected to be about 500 stores, of which franchisee will be the majority.
Meanwhile, select Chow Tai Fook Jewellery shops are strategically segmented to JEWELRIA and ARTRIUM in order to provide matching products, environment, and experience to our diversified customer groups. In Hong Kong and Macau, retail network of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery brand was stable at 99 points of sale. Our first T MARK specialty store, Hearts On Fire, and an ARTRIUM showroom were opened in Hong Kong during this year.
During FY 2019, we also opened eight points of sale in other markets, including our first store in Cambodia and Vietnam. In Hong Kong, Macau, customer traffic saw a positive growth of nearly 5% year-on-year. Both Hong Kong and Macau fared similar growth during FY 2019, with 11.8% and 9.2% respectively. Share of RSV settled in China UnionPay, Alipay, WeChat Pay, and other renminbi, a proxy for sale contribution from Mainland tourists, lifted from 44% last year to this year, 46%.
Retail network management in Hong Kong and Macau. Select MONOLOGUE opened its footprint in FY 2020. Most of them are small shops located in local regions and some others new brand like MONOLOGUE and SOINLOVE. We shall consider the rollout of other brand in FY 2020 to capture the younger customer segment. We shall continue to explore expansion opportunities in other parts of Southeast Asia, taking advantage of the booming economies there. I would like to hand it to Danita to share with you multi-brand strategy.
Thank you, Kent.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group has evolved from a single-brand retailer to a multi-brand owner. On top of our core brand, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery, we have been investing in developing our multi-brand strategies since 2016 to cater to a broader customer segment and deliver experience-driven retail offering. These strategies have been making good progress over the last few years. In first half fiscal year 2019, we continued our differentiations in store layouts and launched ARTRIUM, which focuses on artisan jewelry pieces with meticulous craftsmanship. New POS in Changsha, Shanghai, and also Hong Kong were rolled out during the year. For T MARK, as at on March 31, 2019, there were 500 counters-in-shop in Mainland China and 43 counters-in-shop in Hong Kong, Macau, distributing T MARK diamond products. Five specialty stores were also opened last year.
In FY 2019, T MARK recorded an impressive retail sales value growth of 76% in Mainland China and 73% in Hong Kong, Macau. Its revenue contribution was further left to 19.4% and 25.9% of our diamond products sold in Mainland China and Hong Kong, Macau, respectively. During the year, our collaborations with GIA to adopt blockchain technology enables our customers to receive permanent and immutable digital GIA grading certifications. 10 POS was empowered by digital report of T MARK products as at March 2019. For Hearts On Fire, as of March 2019, there were 18 Hearts On Fire POS and 186 shops-in-shop and counters-in-shop. For our two brands, SOINLOVE and MONOLOGUE, these were successfully marketed to younger customers through revolving interactions between online and offline platforms. For SOINLOVE, which targets mainly young millennials women which live glamorous lifestyle.
During FY 2019, 18 POS were opened, bringing the total number of POS to 27 as of March 2019. For MONOLOGUE, which is a brand that promotes creativity and personal expression in the universal language of music, a net of 27 POS were opened during FY 2019, bringing it to a total of 38 as of March 2019. Rollout of these two brands shall continue, and we shall explore opportunities to further accelerate the expansions through franchise model. We expect that the first franchise POS of these two brands shall be unveiled in second half FY 2020. Responding to evolving customer purchasing behavior, we continue to strengthen retail experience. Experience shops with different thematic layout were opened in Mainland China in second half FY 2019, following the success of the rollout in Hong Kong last year.
We shall continue to roll out experience shops in both Mainland China and Hong Kong in FY 2020. Selective shops in tier 1 and tier 2 cities were pioneered with the applications of in-store technology. Cloud Kiosks were in-store to provide a renewed shopping experience, a wider productions of a selection of products not limited to the physical store level, and an overall enhancement in transactions efficiency. We further explore the use of innovative self-service experience corner. During FY 2019, 26 self-service experience corners were installed in locations such as VIP lounges of some of the key train stations in Mainland China. For our customer relationship management, as of March 2019, we had approximately 2.2 million members in our membership program in Mainland China. Repeat purchase ratio were lower to 22% in FY 2019, following the revamp of our membership program.
Yet the combined first and repeat purchase ratios was improved to 60% from 55% in FY 2018. In Hong Kong and Macau, the number of members reached 1.1 million, with a repeat purchase ratios increase to 35% versus 33% in FY 2018. Our e-commerce business also deliver an impressive growth of 13.2% in terms of retail sales value last year. It contributed to 4.8% of retail sales value and 13.6% of retail sales volume in Mainland China operations. Average daily traffic reached 487,000 unique visitors. The number of followers on our Sina, Tencent Weibo, and WeChat accounts also increased to roughly 7 million. Average selling price on our e-commerce was slightly decreased to HKD 1,300 last year. Here I shall pass it to Kent Wong for the business outlook and strategies.
Okay. Thank you, Danita. To conclude, in light of the macro headwinds and a tough high base as we head into first half FY 2020, we are cautiously optimistic in the full year FY 2020. The Chinese government has ramped up efforts in deploying a series of measures. These should help to mitigate the impacts on the economy and customer sentiment. To grab a greater market share and optimize the gross brand competence in Mainland China, we will continue to deepen our market penetration strategy in lower-tier cities and light county level in Mainland China in the next three to five years. This would be achieved by leveraging franchisee. As such, our Smart+ 2020 three-year strategic framework serve as the backbone for our business development and our transformation.
We would continue our efforts with focus on these four key areas, capturing opportunity arising from rapidly changing customer preference to broaden customer base by product differentiation and multi-brand strategy and to enrich retail experience. Second, we enforcing customer-led C2M business model to provide customer with personalized and exclusive experience. Third, investing in big data and inventory management analytics to improve overall efficiency and enable decision-making. Four, promoting innovative and entrepreneurial value by introducing incubation space such as Loupe in PMQ Hong Kong. This concludes my presentation today. Thank you.
Thank you, Kent, Hamilton, and Danita.