SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

Q1 net earnings fall 59%; assets under management rise to $19.1b

Property giant CapitaLand yesterday posted a 59.3 per cent year-on-year drop in first-quarter net profit to $247.5 million, from $608.1 million in Q1 2007 when the bottom line had been boosted by a $426.8 million fair value gain from the sale of 8 Shenton Way (formerly Temasek Tower).

The group said, however, that its assets under management (AUM) rose to $19.1 billion as at end-Q1 2008 from $14.6 billion a year ago. It now manages four listed real estate investment trusts and 13 private equity funds across Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia and the Gulf Cooperation Council region.

CapitaLand also said in its Q1 results statement that it plans to originate new property funds in Asia, in particular China, following the increased institutional and private investors’ interest for real estate investments.

The group is on track to grow AUM to $25 billion in three to five years. Its fund management arm, CapitaLand Financial, reported a 52.4 per cent year-on-year jump in Q1 earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) to $18.5 million.

Group revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008, dipped 0.9 per cent to $631.3 million. Higher revenue from office and retail properties was offset by lower sales of development projects in Singapore. Singapore’s share of CapitaLand’s group revenue and Ebit slipped in Q1 this year against the year-ago period. The Republic made up 29.7 per cent of revenue in Q1 2008, down from 41.4 per cent in Q1 2007. Singapore’s share of Ebit fell from 83.5 per cent in Q1 2007 to 55 per cent in Q1 2008.

At CapitaLand’s annual general meeting on Tuesday, shareholders were told that 2008 full-year earnings are unlikely to match last year’s $2.8 billion due to a lack of revaluation gains. However, the group should perform better at the operating level, chairman Richard Hu told shareholders.

In its results statement yesterday, CapitaLand said it expects sentiment in the Singapore residential sector to remain cautious until more stability emerges in global financial markets and economic conditions. ‘However, earnings for our residential business in Singapore will be underpinned by brisk sales achieved in the last two years,’ it added.

The group was silent on possible launches in Singapore this year, although it highlighted likely launches elsewhere, in China, Vietnam, Thailand and Kazakhstan.

Ebit from residential rose 11.7 per cent year-on-year to $151.5 million in Q1 2008, with the improvement contributed mainly by China, arising from marked-to-market gains on an investment.

Ebit from commercial strategic business unit fell 74.6 per cent to $138.6 million due mainly to the fair value gain for Temasek Tower in the same year-ago period. The retail SBU posted a 145.8 per cent jump in Q1 Ebit to $58.1 million largely on the back of unrealised forex gains arising from revaluation of US dollar-denominated loans as the Sing dollar strengthened against the US currency and the divestment gain of Xizhimen mall to CapitaRetail China Trust, but partly offset by higher operating expenses.

The Ascott Group’s Ebit rose 35.3 per cent to $39.5 million, due largely to the portfolio gain from the divestment of the property at 6 Sarkies Road in Singapore and better revenue per available unit performance from Europe and Singapore operations.

CapitaLand also said that the group’s net debt to equity ratio rose to 0.59 as at end-Q1 2008 from 0.5 as at end-Q1 2007. The group’s gross debt stood at $12.4 billion as at end-Q1 2008 compared with $8 billion a year earlier.

Earnings per share fell from 21.8 cents in Q1 2007 to 8.8 cents in Q1 2008. Net asset value per share stood at $3.62 as at March 31, 2008, up slightly from $3.54 as at Dec 31, 2007.

On the stock market yesterday, CapitaLand closed 18 cents lower at $6.79.

Source : Business Times - 1 May 2008

Singapore’s softening property market has started to show up in company balance sheets.

Property giant CapitaLand reported yesterday a 59 per cent year-on-year drop in its net profit to $247.5 million in the three months ended March 31.

This was due to slower home sales and a one-off valuation gain from last year.

CapitaLand booked an unusually large $426.8 million gain in the first quarter of last year from the revaluation of the former Temasek Tower, 8 Shenton Way.

The group’s total revenue remained stable, however. Higher revenue from office and retail properties was offset by lower sales of Singapore homes, CapitaLand said.

Revenue in the first quarter fell slightly to $631.3 million from $637 million year-on-year.

Excluding the one-off gain of $426.8 million, CapitaLand’s net profit actually rose 37 percent.

CapitaLand joins rival Keppel Land in reporting declining profits, as demand for homes cools due to a change in sentiment resulting from the sub-prime crisis in the United States and removal of the local deferred payment scheme.

The company has been trying to reduce its reliance on the Singapore market, as it diversifies overseas.

Its overseas revenue in the first quarter was up 58.6 per cent at $443.8 million from a year earlier, accounting for 70.3 per cent of the group’s total revenue.

Net asset value per share rose to $3.62 as at March 31 from $3.54 as at Dec 31.

Earnings per share dropped to 8.8 cents this quarter from 21.8 cents in the previous corresponding quarter.

‘Since the turn of the year, the financial markets and global economic environment have weakened,’ chairman Richard Hu said in a statement.

‘The continuing global credit crunch would have, as expected, caused uncertainty in the general economic and business environment in Asia.’

He added that the group, however, had strengthened its financial footing and was well-positioned to ‘capitalise on any opportunities that may arise’.

CapitaLand shares closed 18 cents down at $6.79 yesterday.

Source : Straits Times - 1 May 2008

Singapore property developer CapitaLand said on Wednesday net profit in the first quarter fell 59 percent year-on-year to S$247.5 million (US$181.9 million).

The decline came mainly from an absence of exceptional gains, said CapitaLand, the largest developer in Southeast Asia.

Last year’s first quarter profit of S$608.1 million included an exceptional gain of S$426.8 million from the sale of an office tower in the central business district, it said.

Revenue in the March quarter was S$631.3 million compared with S$637.0 million a year ago.

CapitaLand said it remained in a strong position to expand further in the region, despite widespread worries about the global economy stemming from a crisis which originated in the US sub-prime or higher-risk mortgage sector.

“The continuing global credit crunch would have, as expected, caused uncertainty in the general economic and business environment in Asia,” said Richard Hu, chairman of CapitaLand.

“However, the group has strengthened its financial footing and is well-positioned to capitalise on any opportunities that may arise,” he said.

Chief executive Liew Mun Leong said the company would continue to concentrate in Asia.

“We will continue our geographic growth and Asia focus as we believe that Asian economies will grow faster than the global average for the foreseeable future,” he said.

CapitaLand sees “vast opportunities” in Vietnam, where it is building 6,000 residential units over the next three years, said Liew.

CapitaLand is 40 percent owned by Singapore’s investment firm Temasek Holdings.

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 Apr 2008

Keppel Land has entered into a joint venture with Sunsea Yacht Club to develop its first integrated residential cum marina lifestyle development in Zhongshan, Guangdong.

Keppel Land will have an 80 per cent stake in the venture to develop the waterfront homes in the affluent Pearl River Delta region of Zhongshan.

Targeted at the upper-middle to upper income segments, the proposed residential project covers a total area of 82 hectares.

When completed, it is expected to yield about 300 high-end luxurious villas with private berths, and 2,500 condominium units and serviced apartments.

Residents can look forward to a luxurious waterfront lifestyle enhanced by a marina clubhouse with related amenities, including fine dining restaurants, berths for about 550 boats, a boating school and comprehensive recreational facilities. - CNA/vm

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 30 Apr 2008

Chairman cites lack of revaluation gains this year

Capitaland said yesterday its 2008 earnings were unlikely to match last year’s $2.8 billion due to a lack of revaluation gains.

The firm should, however, perform better at the operating level, chairman Richard Hu said in response to shareholders’ queries at the firm’s annual general meeting (AGM).

About $1.1 billion of CapitaLand’s profit last year was from gains in the value of properties and investments it still holds.

The other $1.7 billion came from selling apartments, trading properties, rent and managing real estate funds.

The developer will report its first-quarter earnings today.

According to an average estimate of three analysts polled by Reuters, CapitaLand’s net profit likely fell 59 per cent to $247 million compared with the first three months of 2007, when earnings received a boost from divestments.

The smaller bottomline will also reflect slowing apartment sales in Singapore due to a global economic slowdown and government measures to cool the city-state’s property market.

For the whole of 2008, the firm is expected to post a net profit of $1.04 billion, according to a Reuters Knowledge poll of 19 analysts.

‘CapitaLand will probably continue to book some revaluation gains this year, but most of the increments would already have been booked in 2007,’ Kim Eng property analyst Wilson Liew said.

CapitaLand’s chief executive Liew Mun Leong told shareholders at the AGM that the firm will be able to weather the current economic uncertainties as it is well diversified geographically and can still raise funds amid tight credit markets.

The company made inroads into Vietnam, India and the Middle East last year and it successfully raised $4 billion in the first three months of 2008, he said.

‘Because we are well capitalised, we are ready to capitalise on opportunities that arise,’ he said.

Singapore property firms have so far reported disappointing earnings for the quarter ended March 2008, partly due to slower sales in the local market.

The city-state’s number three developer Keppel Land posted a 3.5 per cent fall in net profit, while GuocoLand and Allgreen reported earnings declines of 93 per cent and 65 per cent respectively. — Reuters

Source : Business Times - 30 Apr 2008