UOL’s net profit slumps 43% to $391.4m as hefty one-off gains vanish

Lower fair value gains also had an impact.

Major property player UOL reported that its net attributable profit dropped 43% to $391.4 million for FY15.

The drop was due mainly to lower fair value gains for the group’s investment properties, as well as the absence of a large one-time profit made from the sale of Jalan Conlay land in Malaysia in 2014.

Excluding the one-time gain of $220.1 million from the sale of Jalan Conlay, UOL’s revenue rose 12% to $1.28 billion in FY15. Revenue from property development of $557.5 million, up 27%, mainly on back of strong sales from its Singapore projects – Katong Regency, Seventy Saint Patrick’s, Riverbank@Fernvale and Botanique at Bartley.

Meanwhile, revenue from property investments rose 11% to $219.4 million from OneKM mall which opened in the last quarter of 2014. 

However, the group’s hotel business, the second largest revenue generator after property development, slipped 4% to $419.4 million. The drop was on back of ongoing refurbishment works as well as weak market conditions at Pan Pacific Perth and PARKROYAL Yangon. 

The weakness in the Malaysian ringgit and the Australian dollar also affected the reported revenue from UOL’s hotels in Malaysia and Australia. 

“Singapore residential market remained challenging in 2015 amid an economic slowdown and the dampening effects of the government’s cooling measures. We expect market conditions to remain subdued in 2016,” said UOL Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer Liam Wee Sin.