Robert Kuok Hock-nien
Kerry Properties, controlled by the family of Malaysian billionaire Robert Kuok Hock-nien, said profit dropped 54% after real estate prices fell and revaluation gains declined.
Net income fell to US400 millon from US$846 million Kerry said. The company cut its proposed final dividend by 38% percent.
Shopping center values in China and Hong Kong, where Kerry owns the MegaBox mall, have dropped and rents have fallen as economic growth slows.
The global recession cut business and leisure travel, hurting sales at places such as the Beijing Kerry Centre, an office, retail, residential and hotel project.
This year will continue to be difficult and full of challenges as the global recession hits many industrial sectors, said Kuok Khoon Chen, chairman and son of Robert Kuok.
Bloomberg reported 1Kerry set a property sales target of US650 million for 2009, US$433 million of which will come from Hong Kong and the rest from China, chief financial officer Louis Wong said. The estimates do not include rental income.
Kerry plans to complete 1.6 million square feet of housing, Wong said. On an annual basis, profit declined for the first time since 2003.
Kerry Properties will pay a final dividend of 40 HK cents, down from 65 HK cents last year.
‘Kerry will be under greater pressure than rivals if China’s property market deteriorates further as it has more projects there,’ said Raymond Ngai, analyst at JPMorgan Chase.
The total floor area of properties being developed in 2008 by Kerry in China was 35.6 million square feet and 2.67 million square feet in Hong Kong.
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