Hiap Hoe returns to black in Q4, posts net profit of S$16.2m

PROPERTY developer Hiap Hoe registered a net profit of S$16.2 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, a turnaround from the net loss of S$13.3 million in the previous year, it said on Friday.

Part of this was due to a gain on bargain purchase of S$13.5 million, which came from the acquisition of Rowe Avenue in Perth. The group also recorded a fair-value gain in financial instruments of S$6.7 million compared to a fair-value loss of S$15.5 million in Q4 2018.

Revenue rose 11.5 per cent to S$35.6 million from S$31.9 million, as lower rental revenue from lower occupancies in most of the group's properties was offset by higher revenue from hotel operations, mainly in the Aloft Perth hotel that Hiap Hoe acquired in March 2019.

Q4 earnings per share were 3.44 Singapore cents, compared to loss per share of 2.83 cents in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

For the full year, net profit came in at S$22.1 million compared to a net loss of S$9.9 million in FY2018. This included a fair-value gain in financial instruments of S$13.7 million and foreign exchange gains of S$2.8 million in FY2019, versus a fair-value loss of S$23.5 million and foreign exchange loss of S$4.3 million in the previous year.

Revenue was down 29.5 per cent to S$132.2 million from S$187.5 million, mainly due to lower sales of development properties in FY2019. Earnings per share were 4.7 cents versus loss per share of 2.11 cents in FY2018.

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Hiap Hoe has proposed a final dividend of one cent per share, the same as in the previous year.

Hiap Hoe shares closed down 1.5 cents or 1.94 per cent to S$0.76 on Friday before the results were announced.