FCL's FY14 profit slips 31% on exceptional loss, lower fair value gains

FRASERS Centrepoint Ltd (FCL) posted a 31 per cent drop in net profit to S$500.71 million for the full year ended September 2014 from a year ago, largely owing to an exceptional loss of S$127 million this year compared to a gain of S$46 million last year.

The firm said the one-off expenses were mainly due to the S$42 million restructuring cost which arose from the repayment of related company loans prior to FCL's listing (in January this year) and the S$70 million acquisition costs of Australand.

Lower fair value gains over the period under review also contributed to the lower attributable profit.

Net profit before fair value change and exceptional items rose 25 per cent to S$501 million from S$401 million a year ago.

FCL's revenue jumped 33 per cent to a record S$2.73 billion from S$2.05 billion, fuelled by completions of overseas development projects in Australia, China and the United Kingdom.

Earnings per share (EPS) after fair value gains and exceptional items were lower at at 20.4 Singapore cents from 95.9 Singapore cents previously. FCL pointed out that the EPS figures reported for financial year 2013 are not like-for-like comparisons as they were calculated based on FCL's pre-recapitalisation issued share capital.

"This has been a significant year in FCL's corporate history as we continued to execute on our growth strategies with the listing of Frasers Hospitality Trust (FHT) and the acquisition of Australand," said its group chief executive Lim Ee Seng.

"We will continue to grow and strengthen our Singapore and Australia legs, even as we look at opportunities over the medium term to strengthen our third leg of China," he added.

The firm declared a final dividend of 6.2 Singapore cents, bringing total dividend for the year to 8.6 Singapore cents.