Swire Properties Uncovers Interim Profit Growth
August 20th, 2015
Swire Properties, which owns Hong Kong’s Pacific Place shopping center and office complex, said its profit attributable to shareholders in the first half of 2015 rose to HKD 8.49 billion, up from HKD 6.46 billion in the first half of the pervious year. Underlying profit attributable to shareholders increased by HKD 163 million to HKD 3.94 billion in the first half of 2015, the real estate arm of Swire Pacific group attributes this mainly to the adjustment for changes in the valuation of investment properties.
The board of directors declared an interim dividend of 23 HK cents per share to the investors. The company’s operating profit rose to HKD 1.03 billion in the first half from HK$807 million of the same period a year ago – Swire properties attributed the operating profit increase to the sales of 96 units at the Arezzo project and from sales at the Azura and Mount Parker Residences in Hong Kong.
The company’s total equity rose to HKD 215 billion by July end. Net debt at 30th June 2015 was HKD 33.77 billion, compared with HKD 34,07 billion at 31st December 2014. Net gearing ratio dropped 0.6 percent to 15.7 percent in the first half this year from 16.3 percent same period in the year before.
The property developer expects profits from property trading in Miami from late 2015, when some pre-sold units will start to be handed over to purchasers. In April 2015, Swire Properties, Simon Property Group, and Bal Harbour Shops agreed to develop the retail component of Brickell City Centre in Miami, with each holding a 61.5 percent, 25 percent and 13.5 percent stake. Despite the profit growth, the firm expects the performance of the hotels in Hong Kong and Beijing to remain weak in the second half.
In July 2015, a subsidiary of Swire Properties entered into a framework agreement with a subsidiary of Shanghai Lujiazui Finance & Trade Zone Development Co. jointly develop a retail project with an aggregate GFA of approximately 1,330,000 square feet in Qiantan, Pudong New District in Shanghai. If the joint venture is formed, it is expected that Swire Properties will have a 50 percent interest in the project.
Swire Properties' Pacific Place Mall at Chinese New Year
