CK Asset reports 20 per cent gain in core profit for first half of 2018 in strong showing for new chairman Victor Li
Victor Li is on a roll in his short tenure after father’s retirement, declaring core profit at conglomerate of US$1.54 billion
Victor Li Tzar-kuoi’s CK Asset Holdings announced a 20 per cent increase in core profit for the first half of the year, partly thanks to the world-record breaking sale of The Center in Central for HK$40.2 billion (US$5.15 billion).
The interim results, announced Thursday, were the first for Li since he took over as chairman of CK Asset in May upon the retirement of his dad, Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man.
The underlying profit, excluding investment property revaluation and property disposal, amounted to HK$12.07 billion (US$1.54 billion), or HK$3.26 earnings per share. That soundly beat expectations of two brokerage houses.
Goldman Sachs expected CK Asset’s underlying profit would fall 13 per cent to HK$7.9 billion for the six months to June 30, compared to HK$9.1 billion in the same period last year, while Morgan Stanley predicted a 3.3 per cent decline in core earnings to HK$8.8 billion.
CK Asset said revenue rose to HK$24.12 billion for the six months to June 30.
Net profit rose 65 per cent to HK$24.75 billion due to the disposal of investment properties as well as revaluation gains. An interim dividend of 47 HK cents per share was declared, 12 per cent higher than 42 HK cents in the same period in 2017.
CK Asset has been expanding beyond property partly because of growing uncertainty about the Hong Kong property market, moving this past year into aircraft leasing, energy and infrastructure assets to provide more stable income.