Mainland developer Fantasia Holdings Group's interim net profit plunged by nearly 60 per cent in the first half this year even though sales exceeded the company's expectations.
The Shenzhen-based developer's interim profit attributable to shareholders plummeted 59.7 per cent to about 201 million yuan (HK$245 million) from 498.7 million yuan a year earlier. Revenue for the period fell close to 40 per cent to about 1.2 billion yuan.
This year "is a comparatively challenging period" for the property market, Pan Jun, chairman and chief executive of the group, said yesterday.
Pan said the real estate industry had been hit by government measures including mortgage and home purchase restrictions, as well as the global economic uncertainties which affected economic growth on the mainland.
The group recorded contract sales of about 3.35 billion yuan for the first six months, and said it was better than expected despite dropping by 2 per cent from a year earlier. The figure equated to 47 per cent of the 7.2 billion yuan annual sales target. In July, the company recorded sales of 670 million yuan, which meant it has reached 55 per cent of its annual target in the first seven months of this year.
Pan said Fantasia is confident of meeting its annual contract sales target by the end of the year. He explained that in the first half, the gross floor area of completed projects only yielded 21,000 square metres, 3 per cent of the company's full-year target of 800,000 square metres. This means it could book more revenue in the current half when more projects will be built.