METRO Holdings yesterday posted a second-quarter net profit of $9.3 million, reversing losses of $4.9 million in the same quarter last year.
The main reason for the dramatic turnaround was that last year’s second quarter was hit by a $9.3 million paper loss in the fair value of its property division’s portfolio of short-term investments.
Revenue in the period ended Sept 30 rose 7.4 per cent to $36.2 million.
For the half year, net profit shot up to $22.4 million from $671,000 previously on a 5.1 per cent rise in revenue to $69.7 million.
Leaving aside the big second-quarter hit last year, the property developer and retailer attributed the robust performance to higher rental income from three of the group’s properties in China: the Metro City, Beijing; Metro Tower, Shanghai; and GIE Tower.
Metro chairman Winston Choo said he remained optimistic on its long-term growth prospects in the China property market.
As of the end of September, Metro’s five properties in China and Malaysia enjoyed healthy occupancy rates averaging 92.3 per cent despite the challenging global economic conditions.
‘At the same time, we will continue to build on the occupancy of our three newly completed properties in Beijing, namely, ECMall, 1 Financial Street and Metropolis Tower,’ he said.
During the quarter ended Sept 30, Metro’s core property division achieved revenue growth of $13.4 million, up 11.1 per cent from $12.1 million previously.
Its retail turnover rose 5.3 per cent to $22.8 million despite poor consumer sentiment, as promotional events bore fruit.
The group continued to enjoy a strong balance sheet, reflecting a healthy cash position of $201.8 million as of Sept 30.
Earnings per share for the quarter was 1.48 cents, reversing from a loss per share of 0.77 cent previously. Net asset value per share was 146.8 cents as of Sept 30, down from 148.3 cents at March 31.
Looking ahead, Metro expects a stable stream of rental income from its four Grade A properties: Metro City, Beijing; Metro City, Shanghai; Metro Tower; and GIE Tower.
On the retail side, the group expects the performance of the Singapore and Indonesian economies to continue to impact the retail trade. The group’s new Metro Department Store at the City Square Mall in Singapore had its soft opening in late September and has started contributing to its retail revenue.
Source : Straits Times – 14 Nov 2009
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