PROPERTY group Ho Bee Investment achieved record net profit of $337 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2009 – a big jump from $93.1 million in the previous year. Its topline also vaulted to a fresh high of $1.16 billion last year – almost quadruple the $302.1 million revenue in the preceding year.
The strong showing was powered by higher recognition of revenue from property development, including five projects that received Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) last year. That’s when developers book a chunk of revenue and earnings from units sold in residential property developments.
For the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2009, Ho Bee posted net profit of $43.1 million, again a significant increase from the $11.3 million reported in the same year-ago period.
Next month, Ho Bee and IOI Land plan to launch Seascape, an eight-and-a-half-storey seafronting condominium at Sentosa cove. It will have a total 151 units, mostly three and four-bedders.
The three-bedroom units are between 2,200 sq ft and 2,400 sq ft while four-bedders are 2,700-4,000 sq ft.
Ho Bee expects to remain profitable this year. ‘Revenues and earnings for FY2010 will be underpinned by progressive recognition of income from the residential projects previously sold and expected sales this year,’ Ho Bee chairman and CEO Chua Thian Poh said.
He said the overall outlook for the Singapore property market remains positive and he expects demand for mid to high-end residential projects to remain resilient. The group is actively looking at property development opportunities overseas, especially in China, he added.
Ho Bee’s full-year profit included a writedown of $29.5 million in fair-value changes of investment properties (mostly the group’s stake in Samsung Hub) as well as writedowns for development properties totalling $57.6 million (largely for the Pinnacle Collection plot on Sentosa Cove).
Maiden recognition of revenue for Trilight, a condo at Newton Road which Ho Bee launched in Q4 last year, helped boost Q4 2009 revenue to $99.2 million from $38.5 million in Q4 2008. In addition to the higher turnover, a $21.7 million writeback on development properties previously written down in second quarter last year and a $1.9 million share of profit from joint venture entities against a $4.5 million share of loss in Q4 2008 also helped to provide a fillip to Ho Bee’s fourth quarter bottomline.
Shareholders will receive a 2-cent per share final dividend, in addition to the interim dividend of the same quantum the group paid out earlier last year. These amounts are double the 2008 payout.
The five projects Ho Bee received TOP last year and which helped contribute to the $1.13 billion full-year turnover for property development were Vertis in the Amber Road area, Quinterra at Holland Road, Orange Grove Residences, The Coast and Paradise Island. The last two are on Sentosa Cove.
These projects’ completion translated to strong cash collection; the group enjoyed a whopping $963.2 million net cash inflow from operating activities last year, and this enabled Ho Bee to repay bank loans and still manage to treble its coffers. It trimmed group borrowings from $1.15 billion at end-2008 to $409.5 million at end-2009 and lowered net gearing from 1.26 times to 0.20. Over the same period, cash and cash equivalents rose from $45.1 million to $171.7 million.
Net asset value per share increased from $1.20 at end-2008 to $1.63 at end-2009. On the stockmarket yesterday, Ho Bee closed one cent lower at $1.74.
Source : Business Times – 13 Feb 2010
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment