Sinarmas Land posts 6.2% rise in Q3 profit on exceptional gains

SINARMAS Land reported a 6.2 per cent rise in net profit attributable to shareholders for the third quarter ended Sept 30 to S$46.7 million as it recorded an exceptional gain from negative goodwill.

The negative goodwill of S$30.6 million during the quarter arose from the acquisition of a subsidiary in Indonesia.

Revenue during the quarter, however, slipped 8.4 per cent from a year ago to S$191.1 million, and gross profit slid 9.6 per cent to S$138.3 million.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, the group's net profit grew 7.2 per cent to S$150.9 million on the back of a 10.5 per cent increase in revenue to S$709.5 million.

This improvement was led by higher contribution from residential and commercial development sales as well as sales of land for commercial and industrial purposes in Indonesia, partially offset by lower revenue recognition from the tail-end development project in China and decrease in rental income from the UK division following the disposal of New Brooks Building.

"While sluggish economic growth and depreciating currency continues to present challenges to the real estate sector, the group has achieved a commendable set of financial results on the back of prudent financial management and strong support from our stakeholders in the group's ability to deliver quality development," said Margaretha Widjaja, Sinarmas Land executive director and vice-chairman of the Indonesian division.

In view of the economic policies announced by the Indonesian government and strong local demand, the group remains positive on the long-term growth potential of Indonesia's real estate sector, she added.