Kevin Lim
Reuters
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s largest developer, said on Friday first quarter net profit fell 83 percent and warned that it may book losses on investment properties under development in the next quarter.
“We do not expect a quick and sharp turnaround in global property markets,” CapitaLand CEO Liew Mun Leong said in a statement.
The firm, whose largest shareholder is state investor Temasek, said that due to revisions in Singapore accounting law, it will have to revalue investment properties under development at the half year with “downside risk to capital values”.
The company added, however, that it was in a strong position to weather the global recession and take advantage of investment opportunities that may arise as it had S$5.5 billion in cash and low net debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
CapitaLand earned S$42.9 million in the three months ended March, down from S$247.5 million a year earlier, due to weaker home sales in its main markets of Singapore, China and Australia as well as lower earnings from serviced residences.
Shares of CapitaLand fell 9.5 percent in the first quarter compared with a 3.5 percent drop in the benchmark Straits Times Index.
Analysts expect CapitaLand to post a 62 percent fall in net profit to about S$475 million this year due to slower home sales and a drop in the value of its investment properties, according to the median forecast of 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSSIN38996520090423