Underlying profit for last year at Hysan Development, the largest landlord in Causeway Bay, jumped 26 per cent year on year to HK$2.04 billion thanks in part to the contribution from the recently redeveloped Hysan Place in the prime shopping district. The firm’s net profit, however, plunged 38.1 per cent to HK$6.16 billion owing to a sharp fall in gains from the revaluation of properties. Turnover jumped 23.2 per cent to HK$3.06 billion. Rental income from the retail sector surged 34.2 per cent, while rental income from the office sector grew at a tamer rate of 19.5 per cent. “The improving global economy and resilient local private consumption should benefit our balanced retail and office portfolio,” chairman Irene Lee Yun-lien said in the results announcement on Friday. “For 2014, we expect our overall performance to be steady.” The company declared a final dividend of 95 HK cents a share, compared with 78 HK cents a share in 2012.
