Ho Bee Land sees earnings surge nearly five times to $225.0 million in 2HFY2021

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Ho Bee Land has reported earnings of $225.0 million in the 2HFY2021 ended December, some 4.8 times higher than earnings of $46.5 million in the corresponding period the year before.

The half-year period’s figures have boosted the developer’s FY2021 earnings to $330.5 million, 141% higher than FY2020’s earnings of $137.1 million.

The boost in earnings were attributed to the contributions from development properties, says Ho Bee Land in its Feb 28 release.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the 2HFY2021 and FY2021 stood at 33.88 cents and 49.77 cents respectively.k

During the 2HFY2021, Ho Bee Land saw revenue grow 75.7% y-o-y to $190.4 million. This was due to the surge in sale of development properties of $80.6 million from the $0.7 million in the 2HFY2020. The sale of development properties in the 2HFY2021 was mainly contributed by Turquoise in Sentosa Cove.

Other income surged 16.1 times to $38.5 million, which included the net fair value gain on the group’s financial assets designated at fair value through profit or loss.

In its portfolio of investment properties, the group recorded a far value gain of $18.3 million on its Singapore portfolio and a fair value gain of $38.5 million on its UK portfolio.

Total income for the 2HFY2021 stood at $228.9 million, up 106.7% y-o-y.

During the half-year period, Ho Bee Land recorded a net exchange loss of $4.5 million from the $9.8 million gain in the 2HFY2020 due to the revaluation of its net monetary assets in Australian dollar (AUD) and Euro, as AUD and Euro weakened against the Singapore dollar (SGD) during the current period.

Share of profits of associates in the 2HFY2021 grew 52.6% y-o-y to $33.4 million, while share of profits from jointly-controlled entities reversed into the black at $21.4 million, from a loss of $747,000 in the 2HFY2020.

The surge in the group’s share of profits from jointly-controlled entities was largely contributed by sale of units in Seascape in Sentosa Cove, and the increase in the net realisable value (NRV) of the Cape Royale project in Sentosa Cove.

As at Dec 31, cash and cash equivalents stood at $123.4 million.

A first and final dividend of 10 cents per share has been declared, which will be paid on May 20.

Nicholas Chua, CEO of the group says, “We are pleased to announce a strong set of financial results amid the challenging pandemic environment. Our robust portfolio of investment properties in Singapore and London provided us the resilience to weather the headwinds in the real estate market.”

“In Australia, our strategy to pursue new growth opportunities in the master-planned residential communities has started to bear fruit. In the last 12 months, the group has acquired more sites to add to the land bank in Queensland and Victoria. We have a total pipeline of about 4,600 land lots. These land parcels would complement our recurring income base as we develop them over the next few years,” he adds.

In Singapore, Chua noted that there has been an increased interest in properties in Sentosa Cove, with home occupiers being interested in the “scarce waterfront properties”, with their “unique and unrivaled resort setting”.

Finally, the construction of the group’s biomedical project in one-north, Elementum is progressing well, says Chua.

“With the biomedical sector registering robust growth, we are confident that demand for the laboratory space in Elementum would be strong when the project completes in 3Q next year,” he adds.

Shares in Ho Bee Land closed 6 cents higher or 2.14% up at $2.86 on Feb 28.