http://www.straitstimes.com/business...her-home-sales

CapitaLand's earnings up on higher home sales

Nov 10, 2016

Wong Siew Ying


Stronger home sales in Singapore and China and contributions from serviced residences and commercial properties lifted CapitaLand's third-quarter earnings.

Net profit for the three months to Sept 30 rose 28.4 per cent to $247.5 million from $192.7 million a year earlier.

Revenue was up 27.7 per cent to $1.37 billion, thanks to increased contributions from development projects here and in China.

The developer said yesterday that higher rental income from its commercial properties here and its serviced residences business also boosted turnover.

China and Singapore remained CapitaLand's core markets, accounting for about 83 per cent of its revenue.

"CapitaLand's operating performance has remained robust thanks to our optimal asset mix that provides us with stability and a strong recurring income stream despite a volatile market," said president and group chief executive Lim Ming Yan.

Its development projects The Nassim and Cairnhill Nine in Singapore, Riverfront in Hangzhou, New Horizon in Shanghai and Vermont Hills in Beijing all contributed to higher revenue in the quarter.

CapitaLand sold 206 homes here between July and September, bringing the total units sold in the first nine months of the year to 510, with a total sales value of $1.24 billion.

Sales hit 2,903 units in China in the quarter, taking the nine-month total to 9,176, with a value of 14.8 billion yuan (S$3.04 billion).

CapitaLand gave an update of the extension fees payable in this half of the year for unsold units at The Interlace and d'Leedon as at the "sell-by date" in its third-quarter earnings report.

These fees relate to Qualifying Certificate (QC) rules applying to foreign developers - including Singapore developers listed here but with foreign shareholders.

It estimated an extension fee of $2.36 million for The Interlace, which had 56 unsold units as at Sept 13, and $2.72 million for d'Leedon, assuming the 87 units still available at the end of September remained unsold by the Oct 21 deadline. The developer noted that these fees will have limited financial impact.

Quarterly earnings per share was 5.8 cents, up from 4.5 cents in the third quarter a year ago. Net asset value per share came in at $4.01 as at Sept 30, lower than the $4.21 at Dec 31, 2015.

Net profit for the nine months to Sept 30 dipped 7.1 per cent to $759.8 million, largely due to lower fair value gains from revaluation of properties and portfolio gains. Revenue was up by 12.5 per cent from the previous year to $3.4 billion.

CapitaLand expects property cooling measures to continue to weigh on the residential market here while the outlook for office occupancy and rents remains muted. Its portfolio of malls here is expected to continue to offer stable recurring income.

The counter closed three cents lower to $3.03 yesterday, after the earnings were announced.