Hang Lung Properties full-year profit plunges, chairman sees no bottom (updated)

Hang Lung Properties

28/01/2016 09:46

* Full-year profit dives 57 pct, but beats estimates 
    * Sees further slowdown in Chinese real estate market - 
Chairman 
    * Expects no short-term recovery - Chairman 
 
 (Adds comments from chairman) 
    HONG KONG, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Hang Lung Properties Ltd's 
 0101.HK  full-year profit plunged almost 57 percent and 
although it beat analyst estimates, its chairman warned China's 
real estate market could slow further and he expects no 
short-term improvement.  
    Hang Lung reported a net profit of HK$5.09 billion ($653.4 
million) in the year ended Dec. 31, compared with HK$11.7 
billion in the same period the previous year.  
    Analysts had forecast a profit of HK$4.687 billion according 
to Thomson Reuters StarMine Smart Estimates, which is a weighted 
average based on the most accurate analysts. 
    "I don't know when there will be a bottom to China's 
economic weakness," Chairman Ronnie Chan told reporters. "No one 
knows how long it will take for the mainland market to recover." 
    But while Chan called the mainland market "extremely weak", 
he also said it was a good long-term investment and there are no 
other countries in the world that can maintain a greater-than 6 
pct GDP growth in the coming years.  
    Hang Lung's revenue fell to HK$8.95 billion from HK$17.03 
billion. 
    The major fall-off was in property sales, where revenue fell 
88 percent from the previous year. Just 63 apartments and some 
car parking spaces were sold in 2015. 
    The company said in a statement that it expected the market 
correction in mainland China and Hong Kong to continue into 2016 
and that it was seeing an impact in the retail sector. 
    As of Thursday's close, shares of the company have fallen 
17.8 percent so far this year compared with a 16 percent slide 
in the Hang Seng property sub-index  .HSNP  
 
 ($1 = 7.7902 Hong Kong dollars) 
 
 (Reporting by Clare Baldwin and Kalum Chen; Editing by 
Gopakumar Warrier) 
 ((Clare.Baldwin@thomsonreuters.com; + 852 2843 6571; Reuters 
Messaging: clare.baldwin.thomsonreuters@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: HANGLUNG RESULTS/