Ho Bee Land's H1 profit improves 16.5% to S$105.5m

HIGHER rental income and development profits drove a 16.5 per cent increase in Ho Bee Land's net profit to S$105.5 million for the first half of this year, from S$90.6 million in the year-ago period.

Revenue grew 46.5 per cent on the year to S$157.3 million, from S$107.3 million previously, said the mainboard-listed real estate developer and investor in a Thursday filing.

Earnings per share stood at 15.89 Singapore cents, up from 13.62 cents in the first six months of last year.

Recurring income from its portfolio of offices in Singapore and London continued to underpin the group's profitability, Ho Bee Land said. Positive rental reversions contributed to a 6 per cent increase in rental income during the half year.

However, its ancillary food and beverage tenants' operations were "severely affected" by Covid-19 restrictions in Singapore and London, it noted. "The group will continue to support these tenants with rental rebates over this difficult period," it added.

On the development front, contributions from projects drove the improvement in the bottom line, with sales of development properties amounting to S$43.4 million, compared to zero in H1 2020. This largely came from Ho Bee Land's maiden master-planned community residential project, Parklanes 2, in Queensland, Australia.

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The group's share of results of jointly-controlled entities surged to S$50 million, from S$3 million in H1 2020, due mainly to higher profits from the Tangshan project in China. About 700 units in the project's second phase were handed over to buyers in H1 2021.

Chua Thian Poh, Ho Bee Land's group chairman and chief executive officer, said: "Taking advantage of the buoyant residential market in Singapore, the group has started to sell its apartments in Sentosa Cove with some success."

However, the business environment remains "very hazy and challenging", given the recent new waves of Covid-19 cases caused by variants, he added.

No dividend was recommended for the first half, the same as the year-ago period, as the company only considers a final dividend at the end of its financial year.

Shares of Ho Bee Land finished flat at S$2.85 on Thursday, before the results were released.