Saturday, October 27, 2007

CapitaLand Shows Hefty Q3 Profit

Source : Weekend TODAY, October 27, 2007

CAPITALAND’S third-quarter net profit more than doubled from a year earlier, buoyed by strong growth in China, the region’s largest property developer said.

The profit after tax and minority interests for three months ended Sept 30 stood at $563.9 million, up from last year’s $272.4 million.

Revenue was $895.8 million, up 24.6 per cent from $718.7 million.

“The group continues to see healthy and sustainable growth prospects in Asia and other new markets,” said CapitaLand chairman Richard Hu.

“Our expansion in China, including second-tier cities, is bearing fruit, as evidenced by the strong results. In Singapore, we also expect a solid full-year performance, underpinned by strength in all property segments,” he added.

For the year to September, net profit was $2.1 billion, nearly four times the previous year’s $559.2 million.

The 42-per-cent Temasek-owned developer, the largest in South-east Asia by market capitalisation, said that earnings before interest and tax for the Singapore market was up nearly four times to $1.7 billion for the year to September, while China’s contribution for the period was $714.6 million.

Mr Liew Mun Leong, the president and chief executive officer, said that while CapitaLand’s core markets of Singapore, China and Australia continue to deliver sterling results, “we continue to expand our footprint in growth markets like Vietnam, the Gulf Cooperation Council region and India”.

For the year to date, CapitaLand has committed investments of more than $8 billion in new businesses and new geographies, as exemplified by our recent Raffles City site acquisitions,” Mr Liew said.

“As the region grows, our strong balance sheet and healthy earnings growth allow us to capitalise on investment opportunities that arise.”

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