Noah Holdings Limited (NYSE: NOAH) stock lost over 12.3% on March 13th, 2019 (as of 12:15 pm GMT-4; Source: Google finance). Fourth quarter performances fees income was soft at around RMB11 million due to the weak performance of secondary market equity products. Lastly, other service fees more than doubled reaching RMB126.2 million, primarily due to the growth of the lending business.
On the other side, the company in the fourth quarter of FY 18 has reported 13.8% increase in the net revenues to RMB822.1 million (US$119.6 million). On the bottom ine, non-GAAP attributable net income in the fourth quarter grew 29.2% year-over-year to RMB223.2 million and full year net income grew 20.7% to RMB1.01 billion in line with the guidance the company previously provided reflecting the strong performance in 2018 despite macro headwinds. As of December 31st, 2018, the Company had RMB2.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents, up from RMB2.4 billion in the previous quarter and RMB1.9 billion at the end of 2017. For the full year 2018, the company generated more than RMB1 billion of operating cash flow driven by profit earned from business operations and enhanced collection of factoring receivables. Income from equity in affiliates for the fourth quarter of 2018 was RMB2.5 million (US$0.4 million), compared with RMB17.4 million in the corresponding period in 2017.
NOAH had distributed RMB25.2 billion worth of financial products, which generated RMB242.9 million in one-time commission, substantially the same as the corresponding period in 2017. Recurring service fees for the fourth quarter reached RMB448.4 million, up 13.1% year-over-year. Operating income increased 17.8% year-over-year to RMB159.7 million in the fourth quarter and operating margin was 19.4% compared with 18.8% for the corresponding period in 2017 due to improved cost control.
Meanwhile, both of the core businesses grew in 2018. Wealth Management revenues reached RMB2.3 billion, up 8.5%, as the growth in recurring service fees more than offset a slight decline in one-time commission. Asset management revenues reached RMB748.5 million, up 27.3%, as well as recurring service fees and performance fees increased. Investment income for the full year 2018 was RMB48.6 million (US$7.0 million), a 27.8% decrease from the corresponding period in 2017. The decrease was primarily due to changes in fair value of equity securities.
For FY 19, the company expect non-GAAP attributable net income to be between RMB1.13 billion to RMB1.18 billion, representing an increase of 11.9% to 16.8% over 2018.