UOL's Q2 profit eases 55% at S$68.8m on fair value losses on investment properties

PROPERTY and hospitality group UOL Group's (UOL) second quarter net earnings slipped 55 per cent to S$68.8 million from the same quarter of the preceding year, the group said in a Singapore Exchange filing on Thursday evening.

This was due largely to fair value losses on investment properties. Attributable fair value losses and other losses totalled S$21.5 million against S$53.8 million gain in the previous corresponding quarter.

For the three months ended June 30, revenue grew 6 per cent to S$363.6 million from the previous year. The increase in revenue was due mainly to higher progressive revenue recognition from on-going projects such as Riverbank@Fernvale, Seventy Saint Patrick's, Botanique at Bartley as well as Principal Garden, which was launched in October 2015. Property development revenue was up 14 per cent to S$185.5 million.

Earnings per share declined to 8.64 Singapore cents in Q2 FY2016 from 19.36 Singapore cents in the year-ago period. Net asset value per share eased to S$9.80 as at June 30, 2016 from S$9.91 as at Dec 31, 2015.

No dividend was proposed. UOL shares ended one Singapore cent lower at S$5.84 on Thursday.