REAL estate developer Ho Bee Land : H13 0% reported a net loss of S$104.1 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2023, reversing a net profit of S$16 million in the second half of 2022.

Loss per share for the period came in at 15.68 Singapore cents, down from earnings of 2.41 cents per share for the same period in 2022, said the group in a bourse filing on Monday (Feb 26).

Net loss for the whole financial year stood at S$259.8 million, compared with a net profit of S$165.9 million in FY2022.

The loss follows the continuous decline in the group’s net profit from H2 2022 due to the fair-value loss based on indicative valuations of its portfolio of investment properties in London.

The group noted in the accompanying press release that an unrealised fair-value loss of S$472.2 million was recorded on the London portfolio due to sharp expansion of capitalisation rates, although this was partially mitigated by a fair-value gain of S$108.3 million on the Singapore portfolio.

Revenue for H2 2023 grew 12 per cent year on year to S$289.4 million from S$257.4 million in H2 2022.

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The increase in revenue is attributed to a significant improvement in development property sales, which rose by 26 per cent to S$159.1 million from S$126.3 million in the year-ago period, as more land lots were handed over to buyers in Australia. This was partially offset by lesser sales completion for Turquoise in Sentosa Cove.

The group’s other main source of revenue, rental income, remained stable at S$130.3 million.

The board of directors has recommended a first and final dividend of 3 cents per ordinary share, down from the 8 cents per share proposed for FY2022. Subject to shareholders’ approval, the dividend will be paid out on May 24.

“2023 was a challenging year due to the rapid interest rate hikes that resulted in fair-value losses in our London portfolio and higher interest expenses for our operations,” said chief executive Nicholas Chua.

Due to the rising interest rates, the group’s net finance costs increased to S$81.4 million in H2 2023 from S$54.8 million in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Chua expects Ho Bee Land’s new biomedical life sciences facility in Singapore, Elementum, completed in December 2023 with a pre-committed occupancy of approximately 90 per cent, to improve the group’s profit position in the coming financial year.

Prior to the earnings announcement, shares of Ho Bee Land closed on Monday at S$1.71, up S$0.01 or 0.6 per cent.