Hiap Hoe returns to the black with net profit of S$16.2m in Q4

Singapore

PROPERTY developer Hiap Hoe registered a net profit of S$16.2 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, a turnaround from its net loss of S$13.3 million in the previous corresponding period.

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 previously.

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.

Quarterly earnings per share was 3.44 Singapore cents, reversing from a loss per share of 2.83 cents in the corresponding quarter in 2018.

For the full year, net profit came in at S$22.1 million compared to a net loss of S$9.9 million previously. This included a fair-value gain in financial instruments of S$13.7 million and foreign exchange gains of S$2.8 million for 2019, versus a fair-value loss of S$23.5 million and foreign exchange loss of S$4.3 million for 2018.

Revenue fell 29.5 per cent to S$132.2 million from S$187.5 million, mainly due to lower sales of development properties in 2019. Earnings per share was 4.7 cents versus loss per share of 2.11 cents for 2018.

Hiap Hoe has proposed an unchanged final dividend of one cent per share.

Its shares closed down 1.5 cents, or 1.94 per cent, at S$0.76 on Friday before the results were announced.