Property sales slump cuts Shun Tak profit
Slumping property sales eroded net profit at Stanley Ho Hung-sun's Shun Tak (Holdings) by 24 per cent to $364.39 million last year.
The result, down from 2004's $480.3 million, was due to a 74 per cent drop in operating profit of property sales and management to $146 million - down from $551 million in 2004. Most of the firm's completed developments had been sold in previous years.
Overall turnover to December fell 34 per cent to $2.48 billion, while earnings per share were 17.5 cents, against 23.7 cents in 2004.
The group expects to book profit from Nova City Stage 1 in Macau after its completion in the second quarter of this year.
It launched the project in September last year and 90 per cent of the units had been sold by December. The project comprises 684 units in five residential blocks.
Nova City Stage 2 began in October and is due for completion early next year, with four luxury residential towers and 552 units.
Despite an increase in passenger volume for its TurboJet, the transport division recorded a drop of 23 per cent from $243 million in 2004 to $188 million last year due to fuel price rises of more than 40 per cent last year.
But the hospitality division recorded an increase in profit last year. Operating profit rose 66 per cent to $28 million from $9 million on record-breaking numbers of visitors to Macau last year. Room rates at the Mandarin Oriental Macau and the Westin Resort Macau jumped 29 per cent and 12 per cent respectively last year.
A final dividend of 4.5 cents per share was proposed, a drop of 31 per cent from a year earlier.
Shares in Shun Tak dropped 2.73 per cent to finish the session at $10.70 yesterday.
