Frasers Property's Q1 profit falls 59%

FRASERS Property, formerly known as Frasers Centrepoint, posted a 59 per cent fall in net profit after fair-value change and exceptional items in the first quarter.

The drop in earnings to S$76.9 million in Q1 2018 from S$187.5 million in Q1 2017 was due in part to falling revenue, which fell 24 per cent to S$740 million in the first quarter compared to the year before.

Before fair-value change and exceptional items, net profit for Q1 2018 was S$69.2 million, down 62 per cent from a year ago.

Frasers Property said that recurring income sources accounted for 78 per cent of operating profit before interest, fair-value change, taxation, and exceptional items during Q1 2018 compared to 53 per cent during the previous corresponding period, when there was "significant profit recognition" from the completion and settlement of development projects in China.

For the three months ended Dec 31, earnings per share after fair-value change and exceptional items stood at 2.63 Singapore cents, down from 6.45 Singapore cents a year ago.

Earnings per share before fair-value change and exceptional items in Q1 2018 was 2.36 Singapore cents, down from 6.26 Singapore cents in Q1 2017.

On Feb 1, the company announced in a pre-market open filing on SGX that it is formally known as Frasers Property, following shareholders' approval for the change in name at its annual general meeting on Jan 29.

Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, group CEO of Frasers Property, said then: "The name change underscores our identity as one powerful entity, consolidating the majority of our businesses into a single, global property brand."

All of Frasers Property's businesses, including those in development, retail, commercial and logistics and industrial, will operate as Frasers Property.

Frasers Property closed at S$2 on Thursday, down three Singapore cents, or 1.5 per cent.