City Developments Limited (CDL) sold 854 private homes amounting to around $1 billion in Q3 2009. Accordingly, for the first nine months of 2009, its sales tally reached 1,391 units worth around $1.72 billion – a large increase from the 360 units amounting to approximately $340 million during the same period in 2008.
Some of the residential projects that contributed to the latest sales of the group during the third quarter include Hundred Trees in West Coast, Volari in the Balmoral area, The Arte at Thomson and Livia in Pasir Ris.
For the third quarter that ended September 30, 2009, the company posted a net profit of $193.6 million, which is 28.4 percent higher than last year’s $150.8 million net profit. Such improvement was attributed mainly to its property development business. Unlike the third quarter of 2008, when the sale of Commerce Point was booked, no one-off divestment gain was recorded in Q3 2009.
CDL’s net earnings for the first nine months of 2009 slipped 13.3 percent to $416.75 million.
According to CDL, it has agreed to sell all its 60 strata subdivided units located in the North Bridge Commercial Complex, a 999-year-leasehold land parcel, for $46 million. The sale is expected to be completed by March next year and its proceeds will be recorded in the first quarter of 2010.
CDL plans to launch a new 177 unit condo this quarter, which will be located at Thomson Road next to The Arte. This project will comprise one to four bedroom units. The group said the relatively small units will be offered at affordable prices.
For the first nine months of 2009, CDL yielded a total cash flow of $852.4 million from its operating activities. The amount was 175 percent higher than the $309.8 million cash flow last year. Gearing ratio improved from 48 percent at end-December 2008 to 42 percent at end-September 2009. CDL said such an improvement was not due to any fund-raising exercise like equity funding and rights issues.
Group revenue for Q3 increased by 36.7 percent to $940.9 million, while for the first nine months it increased by 5.5 percent to $2.35 billion.
Looking ahead, the group said that in the next few months, home buying interest is expected to stay comparatively stable, although not at a similar pace as that experienced in the second and third quarter of 2009. This is on the back of the recent statement made by the Monetary Authority of Singapore about the possibility of introducing further measures to calm the property market if there’s any risk of renewed escalation of speculative momentum.