Thanks to higher earnings of a subsidiary, GuocoLand’s net profit surged by 46 percent to S$57.12 million for the second quarter ended 31 December 2016 compared to S$39.03 million in the prior year. However, revenue slid by 3.0 percent to S$231.98 million versus S$239.50 million previously.
“Share of profit from associates and joint ventures increased by S$44.1 million in the current quarter. This was due to higher profit contributed by an associate in Malaysia, arising from the completion of its disposal of a parcel of land located in Mukim and District of Sepang, Selangor,” said the developer in an SGX filing.
However, revenue for the six months that ended last December fell by 36 percent year-on-year to S$434.7 million, as the sale of an office block in Shanghai Guoson Centre propelled the revenue to S$679.34 million in the corresponding period in 2015.
As a result, its net profit for the half year period slumped by 85 percent to S$82.8 million from S$555.53 million previously. Nevertheless, administrative and tax expenses respectively declined by 35 percent and 83 percent amidst sluggish business activity.
Meanwhile, GuocoLand completed the acquisition of a residential site at Martin Place in Singapore for a bid price of S$595.1 million during the six-month period.
Last November, it also won the right to develop a mixed-use site measuring 48,961 sq m in Chongqing, China for a bid price of 3.64 billion yuan (S$747.91 million). The commercial and residential project will be jointly undertaken with Hong Leong Holdings (China) Pte Ltd, which holds a 25 percent stake in the development.
“Payment for the land parcels will be progressive and is expected to be completed by the end of calendar year 2017. Consequentially, inventories increased by 40 percent to S$3.38 billion as at 31 December 2016,” it added.
Christopher Chitty, Senior Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email christopher@propertyguru.com.sg
