Revenue for the 12 months ended Dec 31, 2025, was up by 9.7% y-o-y to $3.59 billion, mainly driven by “robust” residential sales in Singapore and strong capital recycling gains. The group achieved record residential sales value in the country at $4.35 billion and divested its 50.1% stake in South Beach to its joint venture (JV) partner, IOI Properties, in the second half of last year. In total, the group achieved around $2 billion in contracted divestments, which outpaced acquisitions.
CDL also announced a formal dividend policy for the first time. In its results announcement, the group said it intended to declare ordinary cash dividends at least once a year. The group has also pledged to distribute dividends of at least 35% based on its reported patmi. For FY2025, CDL has recommended a final ordinary dividend of 25 cents, bringing its total dividend to 28 cents per share in FY2025, or a payout ratio of 40%.
The formal policy was a way for the group to “really show our commitment to sustainable shareholder return”, says Kwek.
He adds that the decision to commit to a policy also came at a time when CDL’s share price had “rebounded nicely”. In FY2025, the group had a total shareholder return (TSR) of 62%, its highest since 2016. Over the past year, CDL’s shares rose by over 89% to $9.48 as at March 2. Shares in the company reached a 52-week low of $4.32 in May 2025. In the year to date, CDL’s shares are up by over 18%.
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On the sustainability of its absolute dividends, given that patmi could be volatile due to profit recognition and divestments, Kwek said that the group will “endeavour” to keep patmi as “stable as possible”. “Yes, last year 2025 was a record year… We’re going to have to work very hard to try to keep the levels up. That’s why I said, this capital recycling has to be part of our business.”
The group CEO, who first mooted the idea of divestments at the group’s FY2023 results briefing in February 2024, says capital recycling initiatives will now be a core pillar of CDL’s business.
“We have to continue to drive forward our capital recycling [initiatives]. As I’ve mentioned before, this is not a one-off [where] we’re going to do it for one or two years. From now on, capital recycling is to be [very] much [a] part of our business as property development and asset management,” he says, adding that it would not be “appropriate” to look at the capital recycling activities as a one-off.
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He adds that CDL is also a good investor. “I mean, we’ve had some missteps over the years, but generally, I think we’ve done well on our investment… We really shouldn’t keep seeing that as non-core.”
When asked about the group’s gearing, which increased by two percentage points y-o-y to 71%, Kwek pointed out that it was due to the acquisitions in Singapore — three Government Land Sales (GLS) sites — and the acquisition of Holiday Inn London – Kensington High Street. However, he notes that gearing was at a “manageable” level and the group aims to lower it in a “very significant manner” in the mid-term.
Having a diversified portfolio remains important to the group. “Singapore is an important market to us. [It] will always remain probably our biggest market, but we do need to have a diversification across geographies and asset classes,” says Kwek.
Disposing its UK assets
After ongoing deliberations on its UK strategy, CDL has decided to divest all of its assets in its UK development platform by the end of the year. Five properties — Pavilion Road, Stag Brewery, Development House, Teddington Riverside and Chesham Street — remain on the group’s books with a carrying value of around $800 million as at end-2025. The group has already sold Ransome’s Wharf for GBP69.1 million ($115.3 million) in 2025 and Sydney Street, a residential development in Chelsea, for GBP46.1 million in 2024. As at end-2025, 148 units at the 224-unit Teddington Riverside remain unsold, while three of the six units at Chesham Street remain unsold. The group is exploring options including bulk sales for Teddington Riverside, says Kwek.
At the group’s annual general meeting (AGM) in April 2025, Kwek had said the group “would like to explore” a UK REIT IPO again “when conditions are right”. The group was looking to list its UK commercial assets via a REIT in late 2022.
At CDL’s FY2023 results briefing on Feb 28, 2024, chairman Kwek Leng Beng had said the UK had “a lot of potential” and the group “should be present there and be more active”. At the time, chairman Kwek believed that demand for offices in the country would stabilise and strengthen over time.
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Some two years later, group CEO Kwek says the UK “underperformed” and the group is looking to “recycle this as soon as we can”. Noting that the group’s entry into the UK was “before [his] time”, he says CDL had to engage an external manager then as it had no presence in the UK.
Strategic review
During the briefing, the group CEO shared that the group is “still in the process” of its strategic review. The group engaged a global advisory firm sometime in September and hopes to have more details by “no later than June”.
“We look forward to improved disclosures and capital allocation plans of the group,” says OCBC’s Andy Wong, who raised his fair value estimate to $10.40 from $7.49. “One area of interest to investors would be how CDL intends to further monetise its assets to unlock value for shareholders. Moving towards a more asset-light business model with recurring income streams could be another possibility for CDL to explore, in our view.”
That said, Wong cautions that risks remain given the uncertain global economic outlook and potential policy tightening measures. Investors will also be closely monitoring CDL’s execution and future corporate governance practices following the recent disagreement within CDL’s board.
Wong’s higher fair value estimate comes on the back of a higher revalued net asset value (RNAV) estimate and narrower RNAV discount.
RHB Bank Singapore’s Vijay Natarajan has also lifted his target price to $11.20 from $9.50, with CDL’s 2HFY2025 and FY2025 earnings in line with expectations and strategic view.
The analyst believes there will be “strong institutional interest” when CDL decides to unlock value from its global living sector portfolio, considering the portfolio’s good operational performance and strong investor demand. The portfolio, which was earmarked to be turned into a private fund, has a total gross development value (GDV) of $3.7 billion.
Naratajan has also increased his RNAV estimates by 7% with higher value for CDL’s UK development assets and the living sector portfolio. He has also narrowed his RNAV discount by five percentage points to 30% with “greater clarity” on CDL’s asset monetisation plans.
DBS Group Research’s Tabitha Foo believes CDL will continue its spate of divestments through 2026, although the quantum may be “less substantial” compared to 2025.
She also notes that CDL’s record Singapore residential sales should also sustain development earnings over the next few years.
Foo, who has maintained her target price of $11.80, views the group’s new dividend policy as a “positive surprise”. “We view this as a balanced approach, with management prioritising sustainability rather than giving a sugar rush with a special dividend.”
UOB Kay Hian’s Adrian Loh has also kept his target price of $11.50. “Further narrowing of this discount could be possible if CDL demonstrates material progress in its capital recycling programme and unlocking of value for its non-core assets,” he says.
In addition to his higher target price, Loh has raised his earnings estimates for 2026 to 2027 by 8% to account for continued strong residential sales in Singapore and the completion of announced but uncompleted divestments by the end of the 1HFY2026
