Kerry Properties reports 2015 core profit slides 21 per cent
Underlying profit pressured by lower property sales in Hong Kong and mainland China
Kerry Properties said its underlying profit plunged 21 per cent last year to HK$3.48 billion due to lower property sales.
In a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday, the company said core profit, excluding revaluation gains on investment properties, totaled HK$3.48 billion last year, compared to HK$4.38 billion in 2014.
Property sales fell 66.85 per cent to HK$1.21 billion last year, compared HK$3.65 billion in 2014.
The sharp fall in property sales was mainly due to the sale of investment properties, which fell 91 per cent to HK$120.84 million last year, from HK$1.38 billion in 2014. Gross rental income, however, edged up 18.54 per cent to HK$2.94 billion last year, from HK$2.48 billion in 2014.
“During the year, the local real estate market came under pressure from slowing business activity and global economic uncertainty,” Kerry Properties chairman and chief executive officer Wong Siu-kong said.
The latest weekly data showed Hong Kong home prices tumbled 2.5 per from the prior week, bringing the cumulative decline since its peak in September to 13 per cent.
The Centa-City Leading Index, which tracks secondary home prices at 100 estates, showed prices fell 2.15 per cent week on week to 127.5 for the week to March 13.