Kaisa net profit up 34pc

Mainland developer Kaisa said net profit rose 34.1 per cent in the first half from a year earlier to 1.3 billion yuan (HK$1.64 billion) as some of its big-profit redevelopment projects came on the market.

Core net profit, which excludes items such as revaluation of investment properties, rose 5.8 per cent from a year earlier to 1.2 billion yuan. Gross profit margin rose 3.9 percentage points to 40.3 per cent, much higher than its peers.

But contracted sales in July dipped 1.3 per cent from a year earlier to 1.85 billion yuan, despite a fall of 12.1 per cent in the average selling price.

In the first seven months, Kaisa’s contracted sales edged up 0.9 per cent from a year earlier to 13 billion yuan, only hitting 43 per cent of its full-year target.

“We believe that the operating environment will continue to be challenging in the second half of this year, as it is expected that onshore liquidity condition will remain tight and mortgage interest rate will stay high,” the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.