Henderson posts declines in underlying profit

Hong Kong property developer Henderson Land Development Co. has recorded a larger-than-expected decline in first-half underlying profit after it took a HK$734 million charge for the unsuccessful sales of 20 luxury apartments.

Henderson said its profit excluding revaluation gains slid 37 percent to HK$1.32 billion from HK$2.11 billion in 2009. Analysts polled by Bloomberg News forecasted a HK$1.52 billion profit, based on the median of five estimates.

In June, the company announced that HK$2.67 billion worth of sales at its 39 Conduit Road project had collapsed, which included an apartment that was sold  for a world-record price. The failure triggered an investigation and prompted the government to tighten rules on transaction disclosure as it attempts to cool down housing prices that have soared since last year.

The results “should conclude a difficult period for Henderson,” wrote Hong Kong based-analyst Karl Choi of Merrill Lynch & Co., in a report. “We see signs that Henderson is trying to ramp up sales activities in the second half.”