SINGAPORE (Mar 8): Hongkong Land Holdings, the property group which is a member of the Jardine group, announced FY17 earnings increased by 67% to US$5.6 billion ($7.37 billion) compared to US$3.35 billion in FY16.
Revenue for the full year ended Dec 2017 was US$1.96 billion, 1.5% lower than US$1.99 billion in the previous year.
But the group saw an 83.5% increase in change in fair value of investment properties of US$4.68 billion from US$2.55 billion last year.
The group’s investment properties produced higher results due to higher rents in Hong Kong and continuing low vacancies across both Hong Kong and Singapore.
The contribution from development properties also rose with higher sales completions in mainland China, partially offset by a lower contribution in Singapore.
Underlying profit attributable to shareholders rose 14% to US$970 million.
Share of results of associates and joint ventures quadrupled to US$245.4 million, compared to US$59.1 million a year ago.
The group has declared a final dividend of 14 US cents per share, which will be payable on May 16. This brings the total dividend for the year to 20 US cents per share.
On the outlook, the strong contribution from the group’s investment properties to underlying profit is expected to be maintained in 2018, while further improvements are anticipated from its development properties in mainland China and Singapore.
Shares in Hongkong Land closed at US$6.76 on Thursday.
