Sun Hung Kai Properties posts 31.2 per cent drop in interim profit as it adopts new accounting standard
- Company increases interim dividend payout by 4 per cent to HK$1.25 per share
Sun Hung Kai Properties, Hong Kong’s biggest developer by market value, reported a 31.2 per cent fall in underlying profit for the six months to December because of a change in accounting policy, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday.
The company said that from July 1, 2018, it had been recognising revenue from property sales in Hong Kong only after delivering the property to buyers.
Its interim core profit, excluding revaluation gains on investment properties, was HK$13.73 billion (US$1.75 billion) during the period, compared to HK$19.97 billion last year – which was a 10-year high.
Still, the company announced an interim dividend of HK$1.25 per share, up 4 per cent from last year.
During the six months under review, profit generated from property sales stood at HK$6.69 billion, down 51.8 per cent from HK$13.9 billion a year earlier.
The developer’s shares rose 0.8 per cent to HK$132.9 before the results were announced.
