Ong Beng Seng’s Hotel Properties swings back to black with $578.2m second-half profit
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Ong Beng Seng, managing director, co-founder and controlling shareholder of Hotel Properties, is embroiled in a corruption probe.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Zhao Yifan
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SINGAPORE – Hotel Properties (HPL) on Feb 27 reported a net profit of $578.2 million for the six months ended Dec 31, significantly up from $38.3 million in the corresponding year-ago period.
The net profit also reversed the hotel operator’s net loss of $17.2 million in the first half of 2023.
Revenue for the second half stood at $323.1 million, also an improvement from $276 million a year ago.
The results translate to earnings per share of 110.24 cents, up from 5.32 cents in the second half of 2022.
For the financial year, net profit was boosted almost 14 times to $561 million from $40.2 million a year earlier, while revenue increased by 22.2 per cent to $642.1 million, from $525.5 million.
Gross profit rose by 39.2 per cent to $146.7 million from $105.4 million a year ago. This was mainly attributable to “better performance by the group’s hotels and resorts in general, in line with the continued recovery in international travel”, said HPL.
It disposed of assets with net book value amounting to $10.8 million, significantly higher than the $1.2 million a year ago.
It recorded a mark-to-market fair-value loss of $11.9 million on long-term investments, lower than the $17.3 million a year earlier. Finance cost, however, increased to $98.3 million from $59.4 million, mainly due to higher interest rates.
The board of directors has recommended a first and final dividend of four cents per share, and a special dividend of two cents per share, subject to shareholders’ approval.
The date payable, as well as the books’ closure date, will be announced in due course, HPL said.
It has received provisional permission for the redevelopment of the Forum, voco Orchard Singapore and HPL House into a mixed development comprising hotel, retail, office and residential components, and is working on detailed plans.
It is also expecting Bankside Yards in London, with a residential tower of more than 200 units, to enter the next phase of development in the coming year.
HPL has attracted media attention as its managing director and co-founder Ong Beng Seng is involved in a corruption probe,
Prior to the results’ release, shares of HPL closed flat at $3.58 on Feb 27. They closed at $3.59 on Feb 28. THE BUSINESS TIMES
