First Sponsor Group, which is 35.72% held by City Developments, and 45.63% owned by Tai Tak Estates, reported earnings of $71.3 million for the 1HFY2022 ended June.
The half-year period’s earnings represented an increase of 3.5% over the earnings of $69.0 million in the same period the year before.
1HFY2022 earnings per share (EPS) stood at 5.38 cents on a fully diluted basis.
During the period, the group’s revenue fell 26.5% y-o-y to $115.3 million due to the decrease in revenues from the sale of properties and property financing.
In the 1HFY2022, revenue from the sale of properties plunged 74.0% y-o-y to $21.1 million, while revenue from property financing fell 28.1% y-o-y to $39.2 million.
The lower revenue from the sale of properties was mainly due to the first-time profit recognition of the Soho loft units in Plot F of the Millennium Waterfront project in 1HFY2021.
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Revenue recognition in 1HFY2022 was from the sale of 40 Plot F Soho loft units and 10 commercial units of the Millennium Waterfront project; compared to the 619 Plot F SOHO loft units, one commercial unit and seven car park lots recognised in 1HFY2021.
The lower revenue was offset by rental income from investment properties and revenue from hotel operations, which rose 7.6% y-o-y and 217.5% y-o-y to $6.3 million and $48.6 million respectively.
The higher rental income from investment properties was mainly due to the contribution from the East Sun Entities which were consolidated by the group with effect from March 31, 2021.
The higher revenue from hotel operations came from the 11 Bilderberg hotels in the Netherlands, which was consolidated by the group with effect from May 2. The rest of the European hotels saw revenue surge 281% y-o-y, underpinned by the strong demand arising from the removal of the Covid-19 restrictions.
Finally, revenue from property financing fell mainly due to the lower average PRC PF loan book for 1HFY2022 of RMB2.14 billion ($451.3 million).
In the 1HFY2022, gross profit fell by 7.0% y-o-y to $66.2 million on the back of the lower revenue.
As at June 30, cash and cash equivalents stood at $651.9 million.
During the period, the group declared an interim dividend of 1.1 cents, payable on Sept 1.
Shares in First Sponsor Group closed flat at $1.21 on July 29.
