CapitaLand posts 14% increase in 3Q earnings to $362 mil on lower costs and expenses
SINGAPORE (Nov 14): CapitaLand reported 3Q18 earnings of $362.2 million, 13.6% higher compared to the earnings of $318.8 million in 3Q17.
This brings 9M18 earnings to $1.29 billion, unchanged from 9M17.
Revenue for the quarter dropped by 16.9% to $1.26 billion from $1.52 billion a year ago, mainly attributable to lower contributions from the group’s development projects in Singapore and China.
However, the drop in revenue was partially mitigated by higher rental income from newly acquired and opened properties in Singapore, China and Germany, as well as contributions from CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT), CapitaLand Retail China Trust (CRCT) and RCS Trust (RCST) which were consolidated from Aug 2017.
The development projects which contributed to the revenue this quarter were The Metropolis in Kunshan, CapitaMall Westgate integrated development in Wuhan, as well as The Interlace and Sky Habitat in Singapore.
As cost of sales decreased by 33% y-o-y to $676.4 million, gross profit saw an increase of 15.3% to $583.7 million from $506.0 million last year.
Other operating expenses saw an 87.1% decline to $1.93 million, compared to $15.0 million in the previous year, due to the absence of foreign exchange losses. In 3Q17, the group saw forex losses of $12.7 million, mainly due to the revaluation of RMB payables as SGD depreciated against RMB.
As at end Sept, the group’s cash and cash equivalents stood at $5.35 billion.
Lee Chee Koon, president and group CEO of CapitaLand Group says, “We are actively building a resilient and diversified portfolio across asset classes and key geographies where we already have dominant footholds. With our primary pieces in place, we have expanded into complementary asset segments including the deep and scalable US multifamily asset class. Our moves are in line with our strategy of maintaining a balance between emerging and developed markets, while targeting an optimal mix between trading and investment properties.”
Shares in CapitaLand last traded 3 cents lower at $3.08 on Tuesday.
