Agile earnings slump but revenue climbs 43pc on growth in sales

Agile Property Holdings yesterday said underlying profit surged 52.5 per cent to two billion yuan (HK$2.27 billion), powered by strong growth in sales.

However, its net profit actually slumped 66 per cent to 1.87 billion yuan last year from 5.47 billion yuan in 2008, when earnings were lifted by an exceptional gain from the sale of a 30 per cent stake in a Hainan residential project.

Revenue jumped 42.9 per cent to 13.33 billion yuan as property sales rose 43.6 per cent to 13.06 billion yuan from selling a total gross floor area of 1.97 million square metres. But the average selling price fell 13 per cent to 6,634 yuan per square metre from 7,646 yuan per square metre a year earlier, because only 9 per cent of the total gross floor area last year was low density, compared with 18 per cent in 2008.

Low-density residential projects have higher selling prices.

The company plans to book the sales from a total gross floor area of 2.29 million sq metres this year, 16 per cent up on 2008.

Helped by a booming property market, the builder has generated 22.6 billion yuan from contracted sales of 2.79 million sq metres last year. Chairman Chen Zhuolin is aiming to lift contracted sales 22 per cent to 3.39 million sq metres this year, and says the average price could reach 10,000 yuan per square metre.

The average price for contracted sales was 8,100 yuan per square metre last year, indicating that the developer is aiming to generate 33.9 billion yuan from such sales.