http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/comp...narrow-q4-loss

Unit sales help Wheelock to narrow Q4 loss

By Melissa Tan

[email protected]

@MelissaTanBT

Mar 1, 2016


Managing to sell units in three residential projects helped real estate developer Wheelock Properties to narrow its loss in the fourth quarter.

Wheelock chalked up a net loss of S$927,000 for the three months ended Dec 31, 2015, less than its S$103.14 million loss in the corresponding period the year before, it said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Monday after the market closed.

This came on the back of a 302.7 per cent leap in Q4 revenue year on year to S$108.31 million.

The revenue growth was mainly due to sales of units in The Panorama condominium in Ang Mo Kio as well as two freehold luxury projects in Orchard, Ardmore Three and Scotts Square, but that was partly offset by lower rental income from Scotts Square Retail.

The Panorama, a 99-year leasehold project with 698 units, had moved 561 units as at Dec 31, 2015, at an average price of S$1,250 psf, Wheelock said in its statement.

Data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) show that Wheelock sold 39 units in the project at a median S$1,226 psf in October, 21 units at a median S$1,222 psf in November, and 12 at a median S$1,228 psf in December 2015. Wheelock had paid S$550 million for the nearly 1.85-hectare site in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 2, which worked out to $790 psf per plot ratio (ppr).

Wheelock said that 277 out of 338 units at Scotts Square had been sold as at the end of 2015, at an average price of S$4,000 psf, and its current focus is on leasing out the unsold units. There are 33 units in the project leased out at an average rental of S$5,100 per month, it added.

Ardmore Three, which got its temporary occupation permit in December 2014, had moved seven out of 84 units at an average price of S$3,300 psf as at end-2015, the group said, adding: "Demand in the local residential market is still muted and we will continue to actively market all our developments."

As for its investment properties, Wheelock said that Scotts Square Retail has been revalued from S$260 million to S$234 million and Wheelock Place has been revalued from S$915 million to S$912 million by independent professional valuers.

For the full year, net profit slid 6.5 per cent to S$40.33 million and revenue shot up 275.3 per cent to S$371.59 million year on year.

The group made a loss per share of 0.08 Singapore cent for Q4, narrower than the loss per share of 8.62 Singapore cents the previous year.

Net asset value was S$2.54 as at Dec 31, 2015, a drop from S$2.62 as at Dec 31, 2014.

Wheelock proposed a first and final cash dividend per share of S$0.06 for FY2015, unchanged from FY2014.

Its shares slid half a cent to S$1.40 on Monday before the results were out.