CDL triples first-half profit to $300m on strong residential property performance

SINGAPORE – Strong demand for residential properties and the completion of an executive condominium helped City Developments Limited (CDL) more than triple its net profit for the first half of 2026. The developer also said it expects “a very stable” residential market for the rest of the year.

An interim dividend of six cents per share, double the amount paid in the first half of 2025, was also declared.

Shares of CDL jumped by more than 8 per cent to $8.50 shortly after the market opened on Aug 13.

CDL said a major contributor to its results was Lumina Grand, a fully sold 512-unit executive condominium in Bukit Batok.

The project obtained its temporary occupation permit in April, allowing CDL to recognise its revenue and profit in full under the accounting rules for executive condominiums.

There was also high demand for units at Newport Residences, a 246-unit luxury development in Anson Road. Since its launch in January, the freehold project has achieved strong take-up, with 203 units, or 83 per cent of the development, sold to date.

The developer said its other projects, including The Myst and Norwood Grand, as well as joint venture developments CanningHill Piers, Zyon Grand, The Orie and Kassia, also contributed to the strong performance.

CDL said net profit rose 230.7 per cent to $301.6 million for the six months ended June 30, from $91.2 million a year earlier, on the back of a 61.1 per cent year-on-year jump in revenue to $2.72 billion.

The property development segment saw revenue surge 166.8 per cent over the same period.

CDL also added about 900 units to its future residential pipeline after acquiring two government land sale sites in the first half of 2026.

It paid $709.3 million for a Tanjong Rhu Road site, where it plans to build 515 homes, and $542.4 million for a Peck Hay Road plot that could yield 380 units.

Its Singapore residential development pipeline now comprises about 2,200 units.

The hotel business also returned to profitability, posting a pre-tax profit of $42 million, compared with a loss of $84.4 million a year earlier.

The turnaround was supported by higher revenue and a net foreign-exchange gain arising from the Singapore dollar’s appreciation.

Hotel revenue grew 6.4 per cent while revenue per available room – a measure of hotel performance – rose 4.9 per cent to $161.90.

However, CDL’s investment properties division was affected by lower gains from asset sales and the loss of income from properties divested in 2025.

Completed divestments in the first half of 2026 included Quayside Isle on Sentosa and the remaining strata units at Fortune Centre in Middle Road, following a heavy wave of asset monetisation in 2025 that secured around $2 billion.

During the developer’s Aug 13 results briefing, chief executive Sherman Kwek noted that the outcome of CDL’s strategic review – detailing its new growth strategy and capital allocation framework – will be announced by the end of September, instead of June as previously guided.

He noted that CDL intends to kick up the pace of divestments in the second half of 2026, and that deals may include legacy assets in Britain worth some $800 million.

Asked for his outlook on the Singapore residential property market, Kwek noted that “the market has entered into a more stabilised phase”, and that the Singapore property market should end the year with price growth of between 2 per cent and 3 per cent.