City Developments achieves record quarterly profit of S$410.5 million

City Developments (CDL) has booked a record S$410.5 million in net profit for the three months ended Dec 31 last year.

The Singapore property developer’s net attributable profit after tax and non-controlling interests (PATMI) was up 6.6 per cent from S$384.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 “despite challenging market conditions”, said CDL in a statement issued on Thursday (Feb 25).

CDL said the increase could be attributed to gains from monetising its three prime office assets – 7 & 9 Tampines Grande, Manulife Centre and Central Mall (Office Tower), valued at S$1.1 billion in December 2015, and a S$12 million contribution from its UK property development platform for the sale of Emerald House in Croydon.

Group revenue increased by 1 per cent in the fourth quarter of the year to S$855 million, compared to S$846.9 million in the same period last year. CDL’s pre-tax profit also went up by 7.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015 to S$471.3 million from S$437.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. CDL said rental properties were its main contributors to pre-tax profit.

NET PROFIT FOR FY2015 “COMPARABLE” TO 2014

CDL’s net profit for the 2015 financial year was S$773.4 million, comparable to the S$769.6 million a year ago, it said.

However, CDL posted a 12.2 per cent dip in revenue to S$3,304.1 million for 2015, down from S$3,763.9 million from a year ago. Profit before tax also dropped, down 1.8 per cent to S$985.4 million in 2015, compared to S$1,003.7 million for 2014.

“Our 2015 financial performance reflects our ability to navigate through difficult times,” said CDL executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng. “We are well-poised to deploy our strong balance sheet towards investments in a period of market dislocation, capitalising on available opportunities, while maintaining discipline in our investments.

He added: “We remain focused on expanding our international property development footprint and growing our funds management platform.”

CDL last year bought sites in the UK and invested in an Australian condominium project as part of plans to diversify geographically.

CDL has declared payment of tax-exempt (one-tier) total dividends of 16 Singapore cents per ordinary share for 2015.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 25 Feb 2016

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