SINGAPORE (Feb 28): Property developer Weiye Holdings saw its earnings quadruple to RMB 142.9 million ($29.9 million) in the 4Q ended December, from RMB 35.2 million a year ago.
Full-year earnings grew 77.8% to RMB 116.2 million in FY17, from RMB 65.3 million a year ago.
The higher 4Q earnings was on the back of a surge in revenue to RMB 1.03 billion during the quarter, jumping more than six-fold from RMB 154.1 million a year ago.
This was mainly attributable to revenue from development properties, which swelled to RMB 1.0 billion in 4Q17, from 138.0 million a year ago.
The higher sales were mainly caused by higher total net saleable floor area handed over to customers during the quarter.
Revenue from equipment manufacturing grew 44% to RMB 23.2 million in 4Q17, from RMB 16.1 million a year ago.
This was mainly due to higher sales of clean room equipment products as a result of recovery of semiconductor industry, as well as higher sales of air purification products resulted from business expansion in China.
Earnings per share (EPS) rose to RMB 72.87 cents, from 17.93 cents a year ago, while net asset value (NAV) per share grew to RMB 6.71, from RMB 6.13 a year ago.
As at end December, cash and cash equivalents stood at RMB 654.1 million.
Looking ahead, Weiye says its property development business in China could face more challenges in the next 12 months existing property control measures currently in place are expected to continue in the short run, and the government's new public rental housing policies is expected to further affect the real estate market adversely.
Shares of Weiye last closed at 45 cents on Feb 23.