Ho Bee Land's group turnover boost 440% YoY

But profit attributable to shareholders decreased 79%.

Ho Bee Land continues to profit from its office buildings: The Metropolis in Singapore, and Rose Court and 1 St Martin’s Le Grand in London, as the real estate environment in Singapore remains to be challenging, especially in the residential sector.

In a media release, Ho Bee Land announced a 54% lower net profit of $12.2 million for 2Q14, compared to last year’s $25.9 million gain owing to the disposal of Hotel Windsor then.

Ho Bee Land’s remarkable statistic is the group turnover boosted by higher revenue from investment properties. Turnover amounted to $26.8 million as compared to $6.1 million in 2Q last year. Rental income from the Group’s industrial and commercial properties rose substantially to S$25.7 million from S$2.8 million in the 2nd quarter of 2013. This was
mainly contributed by the rentals of office buildings.

Here’s more from Ho Bee Land:

Earnings per share for the 2nd quarter was 1.8 cents, compared to 3.9 cents in the same period last year.

For the six months ended 30 June 2014, profit attributable to shareholders decreased 79% from $78.4 million in the previous year to $16.3 million, yielding earnings of 2.4 cents per share. The higher earnings last year was due to the $47 million gain on sale of investment interest in Chongbang Holdings in China and $25.9 million gain on disposal of Hotel Windsor.

Group turnover amounted to $43.9 million, compared to S$66.9 million achieved in the 1st half of 2013, as there was no revenue recognition from development properties this year.
Total shareholders’ fund as at 30 June 2014 was $2.27 billion, representing a net
asset value of $3.40 per share. Net gearing increased from 0.15 times to 0.35 times
as at the end of the period.

Mr. Chua Thian Poh, Chairman & CEO of the Group said that the Singapore’s real estate environment continues to be challenging, especially in the residential sector. The Government had reiterated on many occasions that it is still too early to relax the cooling measures. Mr Chua added that notwithstanding these challenges, the Group is beginning to see the fruition of the strategic decision to increase the portfolio of investment properties.

“With the completion of The Metropolis and the strategic acquisitions of Rose Court and 1 St Martin’s Le Grand in London, the Group now has a substantial stream of investment income that would underpin the Group’s earnings in the years to come,” added Mr Chua.