Southeast Asia’s biggest property developer Capitaland’s third-quarter net profit slumped 43.3 per cent from a year earlier to S$159.6 million.
Revenue declined by 34.6 per cent from a year earlier to S$684.6 million because of lower revenue recognition upon completion of residential projects in Singapore.
Loss of rental revenue following the divestment of Clarke Quay in Singapore and three shopping malls in Malaysia to subsidiaries also made a dent in earnings.
The decrease was partially offset by higher revenue from development projects in Australia and Vietnam.
Capitaland said it is optimistic that all its business units will achieve strong operating performance for the year.
Separately, CapitaLand said it aims to expand its presence in China and Vietnam with the establishment of a new business unit, CapitaValue Homes.
The unit will cater to homebuyers whose mortgage capacity to purchase homes is pegged to about 40 per cent of the household income level in a particular city.
For a start, CapitaValue Homes has identified two sites, one each in China and Vietnam, as its maiden projects.
The unit’s first Vietnamese project will be a 500-apartment development located in Ho Chi Minh City.
For the project in China, CapitaValue Homes will build more than 2,000 homes in Wuhan City.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Oct 2010