PropNex net profit doubles in Q2

REAL estate agency PropNex posted net profit of S$7.26 million for the second quarter ended June 30, almost doubling from the S$3.7 million record in the same period a year ago, on higher revenue and an increase in contribution from project marketing services.

Revenue went up 15 per cent to S$105.93 million, again mainly due to the increase in commission income from project marketing services driven by higher number of transactions completed in the second quarter following the recovery of the private residential market from the property cooling measures of July 2018, said the group in a bourse filing.

Earnings per share for the quarter stood at 1.96 Singapore cents, up from one Singapore cent previously.

An interim dividend of 1.5 Singapore cent was declared, payable on Sept 3.

For the half-year, net profit came in at S$14.84 million, up from S$5.7 million previously. Meanwhile, revenue jumped 45.2 per cent to S$241.55 million for the half-year.

In its outlook, the group said that private new home sales might see the post circuit breaker sales momentum pick up for the remaining of the year, as developers roll out more projects with competitive prices over the next few months.

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"While the economic downturn could lead to some buyers postponing their buying decision, the group believes that low interest rates and fiscal policy measures supporting businesses and individuals will broadly lend support to housing demand and underpin sales," said the group in a statement.

Projects located outside central region such as Treasure At Tampines, Parc Clematis and The Florence Residences performed well in the second quarter, and appeared to be steadily transacting units while keeping prices fairly stable, the group noted.

The group expects the majority of the impact from the contraction of market volume during the circuit breaker period to be reflected in the group's financial performance in the second half of the year.

PropNex's shares closed flat at 54 Singapore cents, before the release of its results.