City Developments posts record S$384.9m profit for Q4

CITY Developments Limited (CDL) posted a record net profit of S$384.9 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, up 73.4 per cent over the previous year. This was on the back of revenue rising 7.4 per cent to S$846.9 million.

For the full year, the property developer's net profit rose 12.2 per cent to S$769.6 million, from S$686.2 million a year ago. Revenue correspondingly rose 17.1 per cent to S$3.76 billion.

Property development was the main contributor to CDL's pre-tax profit. Together with its joint venture associates, CDL sold 1,378 units including executive condominiums, at a value of about S$1.4 billion, maintaining the group's position as Singapore's top-selling private-sector developer for 2014.

Hotel operations, primarily from Millennium & Copthorne Hotels plc, were the next highest contributor. Pre-tax profit for this segment increased by 191.1 per cent for Q4 2014 and by 43.7 per cent for FY2014.

In addition to a final dividend of eight cents per share, the Board has recommended a special final dividend of four cents per share. Taking into account the special interim dividend of four cents paid in September 2014, the total dividends for 2014 amounted to 16 cents per share.