UOL Group has reported a 44% jump in its FY2023 earnings, thanks partly to a one-off gain from the sale of the former Parkroyal Hotel.
For the year ended Dec 2023, the company reported earnings of $707.7 million, with $442.3 million of that from the gains recognised from the sale of the hotel along Kitchener Road.
The company plans to pay a special dividend of 5 cents per share, on top of a first and final dividend of 15 cents.
UOL has also appointed Wee Ee Lim as the new chairman, taking over from Wee Cho Yaw.
In FY2023, UOL's pre-tax profit before fair value and other gains/losses was down 24% to $475.1 million, no thanks to weaker performance from property development, share of losses from associates, joint ventures, as well as higher finance costs.
The declines were partly offset by better performance from hotel operations and higher investment income.
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UOL booked a fair value gain of $20.2 million on its investment properties in FY2023, down 92%. Fair value gains were recorded for Singapore properties while fair value losses were reported for commercial properties in the UK and Australia.
FY2023 revenue was down 16% to $2.68 billion. Higher hotel revenue was offset by lower property development revenue, amid market cooling measures and a softer economy.
The company's revenue from property development was down 39% to $1.21 billion, with lower contributions from Avenue South Residence, The Tre Ver and Clavon in Singapore and Park Eleven in Shanghai. On the other hand, projects such as AMO Residence and The Watergardens at Canberra in Singapore contributed more revenue.
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Despite the drop, UOL group chief executive Liam Wee Sin says the sales of its Singapore residential projects has exceeded expectations, especially for Watten House which achieved 64% sales booking last year. "This reflected strong demand for good products in attractive locations," he says.
Meanwhile, the company's office and retail portfolio saw positive rental reversions.
"Ongoing asset enhancement initiatives will contribute incrementally to our bottom line. We will capitalise on the rebound of the hospitality sector with our refurbished and newly opened hotels," adds Liam.
Going forward, Liam expects demand for freehold residential projects and integrated developments to be "healthy".
Last July, the company acquired a 50% stake in a five-hectare mixed retail cum residential site at Tampines Avenue 11 and was last week awarded the Orchard Boulevard site in a government land sales tender.
In the coming 3QFY2024, UOL plans to launch Meyer Blue, a 226-unit freehold development, which will benefit from the future Long Island project announced by the government.
Office rents, meanwhile, are likely to moderate due to a new pipeline of offices and more companies may right-size their office space given economic uncertainties.
Retail rent, on the other hand, should be sustained with tourism projected to recover fully this year and limited new supply. Similarly, UOL believes that Singapore’s hospitality sector is likely to continue its growth with travel further recovering.
As at Dec 31 2023, UOL's NTA was $13.03 per share, up from $12.55 as at 31 December 2022. In contrast, UOL shares closed at $6.01 on Feb 27, down 1.64% for the day and down 12.01% in the past 12 months.
