SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

Boosted by sale of stake in One Raffles Quay, the firm posts a seven-fold surge in Q4 profits to $572 million

Keppel Land kicked off the current quarterly earnings for the property sector on a positive note with a strong set of results, but analysts said the sharp gains may not be repeated in the current year as businesses could face weaker business conditions.

The seven-fold surge in net profit to $572 million for the three months ended Dec 31 was boosted by a one-time capital gain from the sale of its one-third stake in One Raffles Quay (picture).

Keppel Land is proposing a final dividend of 8 cents per share and a special dividend of 12 cents per share. For the full year, it said profit after tax rose almost four times to $780 million from $200.3 million the year before.

Singapore’s second largest property developer’s results bids well for the rest of the sector, but analysts warned that property developers in general may not see such buoyant conditions this year, with weak market sentiment resulting in delays in property launches.

The launch of the Marina Bay Suites has been delayed until after Chinese New Year “to wait until people get their bonuses and perhaps, after people get their hongbao (red packet)”, said Keppel Land chief executive officer Kevin Wong.

Both housing and office property prices reached records last year, but with the US sub-prime crisis widening, companies are starting to tighten their spending on worries of a global slowdown.

The latest Urban Redevelopment Authority data showed that sales and rental prices for private residential and office properties have risen at a slower pace in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter of 2007. For the whole of last year, private home prices rose 31.2 per cent and prices of office space rose 32.6 per cent.

The rising price trend will continue and will broaden to the mass residential market, but the gains won’t be as aggressive, with analysts forecasting no more than a 15-per-cent rise in property prices on average.

“The drivers for earnings growth this year (for Keppel Land) are most likely from projects in emerging markets like China and Vietnam,” said CIMB analyst Donald Chua.

Source : Today - 30 Jan 2008

CapitaLand’s offer to buy the remaining shares of its 67-per-cent unit, The Ascott Group, at $1.73 apiece represents a decent exit price for minority owners of the luxury residences operator, according to CIMB, who said the price “is a fair valuation from a historical perspective, but attractive in the current environment of heightened risk aversion”.

Stock markets worldwide have been rocked in recent months by the fallout from the US sub-prime mortgage fiasco, and banks and property counters have bore the brunt of the volatility. The ST Index is down about 12 per cent since the beginning of the year.

In its offer document despatched to Ascott shareholders yesterday, CapitaLand’s fully-owned Somerset Capital unit said the offer was unconditional in all aspects and that payment would be disbursed 10 days after the receipt of acceptances. The offer will close on Feb 26 and the offer price will not be revised. CapitaLand intends to take Ascott private and will exercise its rights of compulsory acquisition.

Source : Today - 30 Jan 2008

Keppel Land has surpassed market expectations, with full-year earnings hitting a record S$779 million in 2007.

This is up sharply from just S$200 million the previous year - boosted by strong sales at its high-end luxury residential projects.

With money in the bank, Keppel Land is eyeing greater overseas expansion in 2008.

Reflections at Keppel Bay and Marina Bay Residence are just two of the projects that have helped Keppel Land achieve record earnings last year.

Not only was net income at a record high, turnover also hit its highest ever at S$1.4 billion.

Kevin Wong, Group Chief Executive Officer, Keppel Land Limited, said, “2007 is a record year, in terms of price increase as well as number of units taken up. Looking ahead, we see that the high-end market direction will probably be dependant on the outcome of the US sub-prime problem, but (as for) the middle and mass market segment, we expect prices to continue to go up steadily.”

The numbers include gains from the sale of its one-third stake in One Raffles Quay, as well as appreciation in the value of its office portfolio.

All in, Keppel sold more than 760 residential units in Singapore last year - a new record for the company.

Keppel Land also saw an 82 percent jump in earnings from property trading.

Overseas markets such as China and Vietnam contributed to 40 percent of total earnings.

However, Keppel Land is seeking to drive this up to 50 percent this year.

Mr Wong said, “Firstly, we spend on the shareholders - 12 cents. Secondly, what we will be doing is we would go where the market is, and Vietnam is a good place to expand; China again is a good place to expand, and we have started on some projects in Middle East, but there is no hard and fast route.”

Keppel Land is paying out a final dividend of 8 cents a share and a special dividend of 12 cents a share.

Source : ChannelNewsAsia - 29 Jan 2008

WING Tai Holdings yesterday reported a 19 per cent year-on-year drop in net profit to $43.6 million for its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2007, while revenue plunged 59 per cent.

Q2 sales for the property group came to $110.7 million, while earnings per share were 5.81 cents - down from 7.47 cents.

The Q2 earnings brought first-half net profit attributable to shareholders to $105.35 million, a rise of 25 per cent, even though revenue fell 52 per cent to $210.9 million. The results included a $27.5 million gain from the disposal of available-for-sale financial assets.

The company attributed the lower half-year sales to smaller contribution from the development properties division.

Revenue on development properties for the current period was mainly from the units sold in The Riverine by The Park, The Meritz and The Lakeside.

The profits recognised from these three projects contributed to its operating profit of $70.1 million - down 37 per cent from $110.5 million a year ago.

However, the company was helped by a more than three-fold jump in the share of profit of associated and joint venture companies, which lifted half-year net income.

The share of profit from associates and joint ventures rose from $23.2 million in the previous corresponding period to $75.9 million, due to the higher contributions from VisionCrest and Casa Merah projects in Singapore.

Wing Tai said that in view of volatility in the current market, it will continue to monitor the property market closely.

New residential projects for sale in the current year will be released at an opportune time.

Yesterday, Credit Suisse issued an ‘underperform’ on the stock, with a price target of $2.48.

The shares ended trading yesterday at $2.30 - up 6 cents from previously.

Source : Business Times - 26 Jan 2008

THE Ascott Group, Asia’s biggest operator of serviced apartments, yesterday said that its fourth-quarter profit more than tripled on the back of divestment gains.

Net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2007 rose to $45.4 million from $13.6 million a year earlier. Q4 earnings per share rose to 2.8 cents, from 0.9 of a cent a year earlier.

The company is recommending a total cash dividend of six cents a share, including a bonus dividend of 4.8 cents.

Ascott’s performance was boosted by the divestment of the Somerset Bayswater property in London, which gave it a net gain of $17.8 million. The company also saw some gains from the sale of a golf course in Guangzhou.

Q4 revenue rose 14 per cent to $116.5 million, from $102.1 million a year earlier, as Ascott benefited from increases in revenue per available unit and better fee-based income.

Related links: Click here for Ascott’s news release Financial results Presentation slides

During the quarter, Ascott’s property portfolio also crossed the 20,000-unit mark for the first time. The company added 3,528 units to its stable, taking the total number of serviced residence units under its management to 20,449. Ascott plans to have to have 25,000 apartments in Asia, Europe and the Gulf region by 2010.

For the whole of 2007, Ascott’s net profit rose 8 per cent to $177.3 million, from $163.6 million in 2006. Revenue for the full year rose 7 per cent to $435.3 million, from $405.9 million previously.

Ascott will continue to grow its portfolio, said chief executive Jennie Chua yesterday. ‘I think crossing the 20,000-mark makes us the largest owner-operator of serviced residences in the world. We will continue to grow, in the right cities and the right locations.’

Ms Chua aims to expand Ascott’s presence in South-east Asia, China, India and Europe. For South-east Asia, Vietnam and the Philippines are particularly attractive, she said.

In a separate statement, Ascott said that it would invest A$136.2 million (S$170.4 million) to develop a 398-unit property in Melbourne’s central business district. The investment amount includes land and building costs. The property will be Ascott’s first Citadines-branded serviced residence in Australia, the company said.

Ascott’s parent company, CapitaLand, made a general offer for Ascott on Jan 7 in a deal that values the serviced residence company at $2.8 billion.

CapitaLand, South-east Asia’s largest property firm by market value, owns 66.5 per cent of Ascott and intends to pay up to $989.5 million - or $1.73 a share - for the remaining shares in Ascott to take the company private. Ascott’s shares closed one cent lower at $1.72 yesterday.

Source : Business Times - 26 Jan 2008