Guoco Group

Guoco Group - the Hong Kong-listed flagship of Malaysia's Hong Leong Group - announced a 13.7 per cent increase in attributable profit last year but warned the recent currency turmoil might retard profit growth in the near future.

'The immediate outlook for the region must be viewed with realistic objectivity. Our group's strong financial position, solid management team and long-term strategic focus augur well for the group; however, no business entity is immune from macro-economic forces,' the group said.

Attributable profit for the year to June was $2.14 billion, up from $1.88 billion.

An exceptional gain of $451.91 million was derived from the disposal of premises and investments and net compensation on acquisition of land by its subsidiaries. Last year the group recorded a similar gain of $129.28 million.

Earnings per share were $5.04, up from the previous $4.43. A proposed final dividend of 60 cents per share will boost the annual payout to 85 cents, up from 78 cents last year.

Its 70 per cent owned Dao Heng Bank Group continued to contribute the majority of the group's bottom-line profit.

Newly acquired Guoco Land - with a different fiscal year-end from the group - achieved an attributable profit of $17.07 million for the six month to June, down from $37.97 million for the same period last year before the acquisition took place.