City Developments posts S$133.8m Q2 earnings, 32.4% jump in revenue

SINGAPORE property developer City Developments Ltd (CDL) said on Thursday its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016, stayed flat at about S$133.8 million.

This was despite revenue growing 32.4 per cent to S$1.1 billion, underpinned by the revenue and profit recognition from Lush Acres, a fully sold executive condominium.

These increases were, however, partially offset by lower contribution from Millennium & Copthorne Hotels due to weaker performance, particularly in New York and Singapore which are the subsidiary's key markets.

Net profit was supported by the property development business segment, which maintained its lead as the highest contributor to pre-tax profits, forming over half for Q2 and the first half of pre-tax profits respectively. Recognition of profits from Lush Acres also boosted the bottom line for Q2.

That said, "despite improvement in the property development business, hotel operating performance was disappointing", CDL said.

In New York, revenue per available room (RevPAR) fell by 15.8 per cent on the influx of new inventory and the strengthening US dollar dampening leisure travel demand, especially from the UK and Europe.

Singapore's RevPAR was 10.2 per cent lower due to continued weak demand in the corporate travel segment and increases in room inventory.

The board declared a special interim dividend of four Singapore cents per share, payable on Sept 9, 2016.