City Developments' Q3 net profit rises 10.4% to S$162m

CITY Developments Ltd (CDL) posted a 10.4 per cent rise in third-quarter net profit to S$161.8 million from the previous year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Thursday evening.

For the three months ended Sept 30, revenue increased 17.7 per cent to S$1.02 billion from the year-ago period. 

The Q3 FY2018 performance was underpinned by the property development segment, largely due to the New Futura condo project in Singapore.

Earnings per share grew to 17.8 Singapore cents from 16.1 Singapore cents in the year-ago period. 

For the first nine months, net profit rose 25.4 per cent to S$446.62 million, while revenue climbed 37.3 per cent to S$3.43 billion. The increases were due to the strong performance from the property development segment from both local and overseas projects.

On Nov 3 this year, the group launched the 716-unit Whistler Grand in West Coast Vale, selling 160 units on the first weekend out of the 240 units released.

Looking ahead, the group is preparing three sites in Singapore to be launch-ready in first-half 2019 - the Amber Park enbloc site which will yield 592 units; the Handy Road site with 188 units; and the Sumang Walk site (possibly the only executive condominium launch in 2019), which will offer 820 units.

CDL executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng said: "Notwithstanding global macroeconomic uncertainties and persistent headwinds for the Singapore residential property market, the group has continued to achieve an encouraging set of results for another quarter.

"Given the rapidly evolving business landscape, our diversified business in terms of product, sector and geography has helped us to weather headwinds that may impact any specific sector. These various platforms enable us to better navigate through cyclical market headwinds and nimbly manage our overall financial performance, while still ensuring a strong balance sheet."

CDL group chief executive Sherman Kwek said:  "Due to well-located projects that offer excellent design and attractive pricing, CDL's residential projects in Singapore have continued to register healthy sales."

He added: "It is also great to see that our diversification strategy has borne fruit, with our overseas projects contributing strongly to our results, especially in China.

"To accelerate our efforts to build a more stable base for our recurring income, we recently acquired three commercial assets in UK and China for over S$1 billion. We see deep value in these prime, high-performance assets which have seen positive rental reversions. Looking ahead, we remain focused on growing our development pipeline and recurring income portfolio through a strategic and disciplined approach."

CDL shares ended seven Singapore cents lower at S$8.42 on Thursday.