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Better result due to Raffles City, higher office rental income.

CAPITACOMMERCIAL Trust, one of Singapore’s biggest office landlords, has posted distributable income of $29.6 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2007, which is 13.5 per cent higher than the trust manager’s forecast based on a circular dated August last year, and a 52.4 per cent improvement from the same period last year.

‘The better financial performance year-on-year is a result of the accretive acquisition of Raffles City last year and the higher rental income from our quality office portfolio,’ CapitaCommercial Trust Management Ltd’s CEO Lynette Leong said in a news release.

CCT owns Raffles City complex jointly with CapitaMall Trust (CMT). The two real estate investment trusts yesterday gave an update on the asset enhancement works and leasing programme of retail space in the property. New tenants committed include the first Singapore stores of Spanish brands Cortefiel and Pedro del Hierro being introduced here by Ossia.

The stores will be on level one of Raffles City Mall, which will also feature flagship stores for Springfield and Kate Spade.

Ms Leong also highlighted that more than 50 per cent of CCT’s office leases (by gross rental income as at Sept 30 this year) expire in 2008 and 2009, positioning the trust for strong positive rental reversion to be realised from its office portfolio.

CCT’s Singapore properties include 6 Battery Road, Capital Tower, Robinson Point, HSBC Building, StarHub Centre and the Golden Shoe and Market Street car parks in addition to the 60 per cent stake in the Raffles City complex.

CCT’s Q3 gross revenue was $59.7 million, up 9.1 per cent from the forecast figure for the period and 60.1 per cent higher than that reported for the same year-ago period. Net property income was $42.5 million, which was 6.7 per cent higher than forecast and a 55.1 per cent year-on-year improvement.

CCT is not making any payout to unitholders for Q3 but its result for the quarter reflects a DPU of 2.14 cents. DPU for the first nine months of this year is 6.37 cents or an annualised figure of 8.52 cents, reflecting a distribution yield of 3.3 per cent based on CCT’s closing price yesterday of $2.57. The counter ended 10 cents higher yesterday.

CCT will be asking unitholders to approve its proposed acquisition of Wilkie Edge along Selegie Road at a coming extraordinary general meeting. The approval, if given, will boost the trust’s asset size to nearly $4.8 billion. The trust is targeting to grow this further to $5-6 billion by 2009.

CCTML says it expects the trust’s full-year 2007 performance to surpass the forecast DPU of 7.60 cents.

Source : Business Times - 24 Oct 2007

Developer chalks up $82m gain on strong sales; another player, CCT, reports steady growth.

SINGAPORE’S booming residential home market sent Keppel Land’s (KepLand’s) net profit in the third quarter rocketing by 112.5 per cent to $81.8 million.

Turnover was at $382 million, up nearly 50 per cent from $255.6 million a year earlier.

Singapore proved especially lucrative.

KepLand earned $56.4 million in Singapore on strong contributions from sales at its Reflections at Keppel Bay and Park Infinia at Wee Nam condo projects. The company has sold 600 of the 1,129 units at Reflections.

KepLand sold 750 residential units in Singapore in the first nine months of the year and more than 2,200 homes overseas, mainly in China and India.

Earnings per share for the nine months ended Sept 30 reached 28.8 cents, up from 16.6 cents a year earlier.

Net asset value per share stood at $2.34 as at Sept 30, up from $2.12 at the end of last year.

KepLand will launch the posh Marina Bay Suites early next year and release other residential projects in line with market demand. There is also a slew of launches coming up in China, Vietnam and India later this year.

KepLand said demand for quality housing across Asia remains robust, supported by economic growth, home-owner aspirations, urbanisation and a rising middle class.

KepLand has interests in the Marina Bay Financial Centre, K-REIT Asia and Ocean Financial Centre.

Another property player, CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT), reported yesterday that it is achieving steady growth and expects to benefit from a strong office market.

It reported a distributable income of $29.6 million in the third quarter, up 52 per cent from a year earlier and 13.5 per cent above forecast.

Distribution per unit was 2.14 cents in the third quarter and 8.49 cents on an annualised basis, up 18.9 per cent from a year ago.

Third-quarter net property income was at $59.7 million.

CCT’s yield-accretive acquisition of Raffles City last year also helped lift its results.

Rentals committed at CCT’s prime assets have crossed $11.50 per sq ft a month, the highest rate reached during the office market’s peak in 1990, it said.

CCT said its acquisition of Wilkie Edge, if approved, will bring its asset size to $4.8 billion. It expects to grow this further to between $5 billion and $6 billion by 2009.

GROWTH AREA

KepLand believes demand for quality housing across Asia remains robust, supported by economic growth, home-owner aspirations, urbanisation and a rising middle class.

Source : Straits Times - 24 Oct 2007

PROPERTY developer GuocoLand has bought Toho Garden, a condominium near Serangoon Gardens, for $62.5 million through a collective sale.

The acquisition price works out to $594 per sq ft per plot ratio, including a development charge of $9.8 million.

Toho Garden is located on Yio Chu Kang Road, near the junction of Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 and Hougang Avenue 2.

It is the smallest of five major residential land purchases made in Singapore by GuocoLand in the past two years.

The purchase price comes below its March acquisition of Palm Beach Garden in the East Coast area for $75 million.

The company’s other land purchases are:

The former Casa Rosita site on Bukit Timah Road, where the firm is building Goodwood Residence;

Sophia Court, near the Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station; and

Leedon Heights, off Holland Road.

All five plots are freehold sites and bring GuocoLand’s land bank in Singapore to just below two million sq ft.

They give GuocoLand ‘a strong and interesting pipeline of projects on freehold land’, said GuocoLand Singapore managing director Trina Loh.

Toho Garden sits on a 86,900 sq ft plot and has a plot ratio of 1.4, giving it a gross floor area of 121,600 sq ft.

GuocoLand plans to build a mid-range five-storey condominium comprising about 100 apartments on the site.

The plot is located in an area of mostly landed properties and is near the Central and Seletar expressways.

GuocoLand’s luxury condominium, Goodwood Residence - which has not been launched yet - recently won Singapore’s highest accolade for green buildings.

The developer clinched the Building and Construction Authority’s Green Mark Platinum Award for its high environmental standards.

Shares of GuocoLand ended unchanged at $5.55 last Friday.

Source : Straits Times - 22 Oct 2007

QUEK Leng Chan’s Singapore-listed property arm GuocoLand has posted a group net profit of $27.7 million for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2007, up from $8.1 million for the corresponding year-ago period, as revenue more than doubled from $88.2 million to $191 million.

The improved showing was due mainly to higher contribution from the group’s property development projects in China, especially from West End Point condo in Beijing.

GuocoLand’s bottom line also received a fillip from other income, which jumped from $9.2 million to $15.8 million, mainly due to higher net foreign exchange gains arising from the revaluation of US dollar bank loans.

However, finance costs rose by 74 per cent to $12.6 million due to an increase in bank loans and the convertible bonds.

Cash and cash equivalents increased from $1.09 billion as at June 30 to $1.53 billion as at Sept 30, largely because of net proceeds of about $555 million received from a renounceable 1-for-3 rights issue at $2.50 per share in July this year.

GuocoLand also gave an update of its various projects. In Singapore, it achieved sales of 86 per cent for Le Crescendo in Paya Lebar and 91 per cent for The View @ Meyer as at Oct 18. The group has also sold 97 per cent of the 337 units launched in The Quartz condo in Buangkok.

In Beijing, the 810-unit West End Point is 96 per cent sold.

Piling for the group’s development sites situated in Nanjing’s Qixia District (Ascot Park Phase 1) and Shanghai’s Putuo District (Changfeng Phase 1) has been completed. Construction has started for Changfeng Phase 1. Resettlement for the development site in Nanjing’s Xuanwu District (Hillview Regency) is largely completed.

The group’s 65 per cent-owned subsidiary GuocoLand (Malaysia) Berhad has eight ongoing mixed residential development projects in the Klang Valley. Earthwork and piling for an integrated commercial development project in Damansara Heights is in progress.

In Vietnam, the master plan for the group’s integrated development project next to Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park near Ho Chi Minh City has been submitted to the authorities.

‘Given the robust economies in the countries in which the group operates, namely, Singapore, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, the group believes that demand for quality residential properties and well-located commercial properties in these countries will remain sustainable,’ GuocoLand said.

In Singapore, GuocoLand is expected to launch the 210-unit Goodwood Residence in the prime Bukit Timah area in the next few months.

GuocoLand’s earnings per share rose to 3.62 cents for Q1 ended September 2007, from 1.32 cents for the year-ago period. Net asset value per share stood at $2.37 as at Sept 30, seven cents higher than in June 30.

On the stock market yesterday, GuocoLand closed unchanged at $5.55.

Source : Business Times - 20 Oct 2007

Property developer Sim Lian Development has put in the top bid of S$38.2 million for a hotly-contested commercial site at Lorong 6 Toa Payoh.

This works out to S$9,100 per square metre of gross floor area.

The 1,400-square metre leasehold site has a maximum gross floor area of 4,200 square metres.

All in, the HDB tender exercise for the site attracted nine bids.

HDB expects to announce the award in the next two weeks.

Source : ChannelNewsAsia - 16 Oct 2007