PROPERTY developer on Friday (Mar 7) posted an underlying profit of US$410 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024, down 44 per cent from US$734 million a year ago.
The group said in a bourse filing that its underlying profits had been affected by non-cash provisions from the Chinese mainland build-to-sell business.
“We expect a partial recovery in 2025 underlying profits amid uncertain market conditions, although at levels well below that of 2023,” added the group.
The group uses underlying profit in its internal financial reporting to distinguish between ongoing business performance and non-trading items, as its management considers this to be a key measure that provides additional information on the group’s underlying business performance.
Excluding the impact of the Chinese mainland non-cash provisions, underlying profit was US$724 million, down 12 per cent from the same period the year before.
The board is proposing a final dividend of US$0.17 cents a share. If approved by its shareholders, this would take the total dividend for the year to US$0.23 a share, up from US$0.22 a year ago. The final dividend will be paid out on May 14.
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Revenue rose to US$2 billion in FY2024, up from US$1.8 billion the previous year.
Net loss attributable to shareholders for the period widened to US$1.4 billion, from a loss of US$582.3 million in FY2023.
The loss per share for FY2024 came in at US$0.6276, compared with a loss per share of US$0.2629 a year ago.
Underlying earnings per share for the same period was US$0.1856, lower than the US$0.3315 in the corresponding period last year.
The group said that it would simplify the business to focus on ultra-premium mixed-use commercial properties in Asia’s “gateway” cities.
“As a result, we will no longer invest in the build-to-sell segment, but will instead actively recycle capital out from this segment into new integrated commercial property opportunities,” said the group.
It expects contributions to decline over the next several years as capital is recycled.
The group’s existing prime, mixed-use projects in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai will provide recurring earnings to support its future investments, it added.
The counter ended at US$4.46, down US$0.12 or 2.6 per cent, on Friday.
