SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Real estate agency PropNex on Thursday (Feb 27) posted a net profit of $8.2 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, more than four times the year-ago net profit of $1.8 million.

Earnings per share stood at 2.22 cents for the quarter, up from 0.49 cents in the year-ago period.

Revenue for Q4 climbed 57.9 per cent to $131 million, from $83 million in the previous year.

The higher revenue was thanks to a surge in commission income from project marketing services to $55.3 million, from $16.1 million a year ago.

PropNex said this came on the back of an increase in the number of units completed in Q4 last year, after the private residential market recovered during the first three quarters from the impact of the additional cooling measures introduced in July 2018.

The board proposed a final cash dividend of 1.5 cents per ordinary share and a special dividend of 0.75 cents per ordinary share. Once approved by shareholders at an upcoming annual general meeting, these will be paid on May 21.

For the full year ended Dec 31, net profit was up 3.2 per cent to $20 million, while revenue fell 2.7 per cent to $419.8 million.

Looking ahead, while the Covid-19 outbreak may have a short-term impact on the market, underlying demand for private new launches remains healthy, PropNex said.

In addition, the introduction of the enhanced CPF housing grant with broader guidelines in September 2019 has made homes more affordable for first-time buyers, PropNex noted.

With a projected 24,163 HDB flats reaching the minimum occupation period in 2020, the group believes that the overall HDB resale demand will also be robust this year.

PropNex shares closed at 55 cents on Wednesday, down 0.5 cent or 0.9 per cent.