SINGAPORE - Property developer OUE Limited's net profit for the full year ended Dec 31, 2018 has dropped to $10 million, down 89.4 per cent from $94.6 million the year before.
This was mainly due to lower net fair value gains recognised on investment properties and impairment of goodwill relating to the group's investment in OUE Lippo Healthcare Limited. This was partially mitigated by higher earnings before interest and tax (Ebit) in fiscal 2018, the group said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday (Feb 27).
Earnings per share (EPS) dropped to 1.11 cents, down from 10.49 cents the year before. Meanwhile, net asset value per share was at $4.37, compared with $4.46 the year before.
The company has proposed a final dividend of one cent per share, and a special dividend of 11 cents per share, to be paid on May 30, for approval at its annual general meeting on April 30.
Together with an interim dividend of one cent per share declared in August 2018, the total cash dividend for fiscal 2018 amounts to 13 cents per share. Last year, the group gave out a final cash dividend of two cents per share.
Shares for OUE last traded at $1.58 apiece on Tuesday.
The company recorded full-year revenue of $642.9 million, down 14.7 per cent from $754.1 million the year before. Lower contributions from the group's development property and healthcare divisions were partially offset by higher contributions from the investment properties and hospitality divisions.
For its development property division, revenue decreased 68.5 per cent to $65.9 million, from $209.5 million the year before. The decrease in revenue was due to fewer sales completed for units sold under deferred payment schemes.
Meanwhile, revenue for its healthcare division, which pertains to revenue contribution from OUE Lippo Healthcare, decreased by 14.7 per cent to $28.8 million, from $33.8 million the year prior, due to lower revenue recorded by OUE's China operations.
The company saw revenue from its investment properties division increasing to $274.4 million, up 1.3 per cent from $271 million the year before. This was attributable to a full year's rental income from Downtown Gallery which started operations in May 2017.
OUE's hospitality division's revenue also stood at $236.6 million, up 7.5 per cent from $220.1 million the year before. This was due to increased contribution from Oakwood Premier OUE Singapore, the serviced residences at OUE Downtown, which opened in June 2017.
Stephen Riady, OUE's executive chairman said: "Our strategic investment and asset enhancement activities in the past have borne fruit, contributing to long-term shareholder value. Moving forward, we will continue the same strategy while at the same time looking out for opportunities that will be value-enhancing and drive OUE's further growth."
