Property firm City Developments says its second quarter net profit came in at S$164.6 million, up 17.6 per cent on-year.
The firm saw higher contributions from its residential and hotels divisions.
Revenue increased 19.6 per cent on-year in the second quarter to S$941.6 million.
CDL says its property development segment remains the main contributor to profit, accounting for more than 50 per cent of its profit before tax.
It says the division has planned two more new launches in the coming months, namely NV Residences at Pasir Ris and the redevelopment of Copthorne Orchid Hotel at Dunearn Road.
With the recovery of the hospitality market in Asia and effective cost management, CDL says its hotel operations also helped lift its bottomline.
It says its hotel subsidiary, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, registered a strong improvement in both revenue and profit in most of its markets.
And as China tightens regulation of its property market, CDL says it may be time to pick up valuable land bank and/or investment properties.
With this in mind, its wholly-owned Chinese subsidiary, CDL China, will be stepping up efforts to focus on establishing its presence in the country.
The firm has allocated investment funds amounting to S$300 million for the purpose.
It has also appointed Sherman Kwek as the CEO of CDL China.
Mr Kwek is the elder son of CDL’s executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng.
Prior to the new role, the younger Mr Kwek had taken on various executive management roles in companies both within the Hong Leong Group.
Going forward, CDL says the rapid expansion that Singapore is experiencing should help to sustain market volumes and support residential sales.
It adds that the demand for private housing and increase in leasing activity remains healthy in the residential and office sectors.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 12 Aug 2010