Polytec Asset net profit jumps 41 pct to HK$41.2 mln

Hong Kong-listed property developer Polytec Asset Holding Ltd. saw its net profit attributable to shareholders reach a total of HK$41.2 million (US$5.13 million) for the first half of the year, which surged 41 per cent compared to the same period last year, it informed Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday.
The developer said in the filing that its turnover for the six months totalled HK$197.9 million, soaring 111.2 per cent compared to HK$93.8 million one year ago. In addition, gross profit of the company experienced a year-on-year jump of 69.7 per cent to HK$124 million from HK$73.1 million.
But Polytec did not increase its interim dividend per share to shareholders, which remains at 0.2 HK cents as per the previous year.
During the period, the developer said it enjoyed a 17 per cent year-on-year increase in its share of gross rental income generated by its investment properties, amounting to HK$31.2 million, of which nearly 93 per cent was contributed to by its rental business in Macau.
‘The improvement in income was mainly due to an increase in rents from The Macau Square, the Group’s 50%-owned investment property in Macau, with total rental income of the property attributable to the Group rising to HK$29.0 million for the first half of 2015 compared to HK$24.8 million for the same period in 2014,’ it wrote.
The Orient Pearl projects
In addition, the developer currently has two property projects in the Special Administrative Region – Pearl Horizon and Lotes T+T1 – both located in the Orient Pearl district. It claimed that the foundation works of the projects ‘are in progress’.
Recently, a group of buyers of Pearl Horizon have complained that the developer’s delay in the foundation work of the project, concerning the whole building, would not be completed in 2018 as scheduled.
In yesterday’s filing, Polytec assured its buyers that it ‘will continue to expedite construction work of its two development projects, aiming for completion and handover to homebuyers in 2018.’
Meanwhile, although posting a notable increase in net profits, the company noted that the city’s property sales were sluggish in the first half, affected by the gaming downturn, and expect the property market will remain weak for the rest of the year and ‘is unlikely to recover in the short term.’
Nevertheless, the company claimed the fluctuation in the residential property market would not affect its progress of its two development projects in the territory.
‘As previously mentioned, the Group has pre-sold over 3,000 residential units of its two major high-end residential development projects in the Orient Pearl District Macau over the past few years, with contracted presales exceeding HK$20 billion. Therefore, the short-term fluctuations in the residential property market do not adversely affect the Group’s two development projects under construction,’ it claimed.