Hong Kong builder Kerry Properties Ltd has announced that its first-half underlying profit jumped 52 percent, attributed to the booking profit from its Larvotto luxury housing project in Hong Kong.
Excluding revaluation gains, its profit rose to S$419 million (HK$2.77 billion) in the first half of 2011, from HK$1.82 billion in the same period last year. Earnings were also boosted by profit from the sale of the Larvotto project, which started before the government implemented the latest measures to curb home prices.
“Both investors and end users will take a cautious approach when it comes to purchasing properties,” said Kuok Khoon Chen, Chairman of Kerry Properties.
“The depreciation of the Hong Kong dollar, high inflation, and the underlying currents affecting the US and European financial systems will create uncertainties for the local economy.”
The company recorded HK$361 million in profit from apartment sales, compared with HK$1.08 billion the previous year. It also booked HK$2 billion from its share of the earnings of associates, including the 35 percent-owned Larvotto project.
Meanwhile, its operating profit from mainland China dropped to HK$1.03 billion in H1 2011 after it recorded lower earnings from property sales.
It has also sold properties at its Soho189 and Lion Rise projects in Hong Kong over the past six months.
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