SOILBUILD Group Holdings, which develops homes and industrial properties, said its full-year net profit rose 10 per cent to a record $84.3 million.

Revenue was up 34 per cent to $320.1 million while gross profit climbed 28 per cent to $116.4 million.

The results were boosted in part by higher contributions from ongoing residential and business space sales and a 49 per cent rise in recurrent rental income base, Soilbuild said.

It completed three residential developments – Espa, The Centrio and Leonie Parc View last year.

Fourth-quarter net profit rose 11 per cent to $27.2 million, on the back of a 27 per cent rise in revenue to $63.5 million.

Given its higher net operating cash flow from development sales and recurrent rental income, the firm said it has proposed a dividend payout of $13 million, or six cents a share, up from four cents a share a year ago.

This comprises a first and final dividend of 2.5 cents and a special dividend of 3.5 cents.

Also, the firm has proposed a one-for-one share split, which would increase its number of shares to 435.2 million. Including the conversion of warrants, this may rise to as many as 538.7 million shares.

Its executive director Low Soon Sim said the firm sold 388 units worth $248 million in its financial year, including all the housing units of The Mezzo.

Soilbuild will launch this year the second phase of Meier Suites and market additional units of the recently completed Leonie Parc View and Heritage 9. It launched these projects last year.

It will also start selling and marketing West Point Bizhub.

Earnings per share reached 38 cents, up 12 per cent from a year earlier. Net asset value per share rose to $1.25, up 38 per cent from a year ago.

Yesterday, Soilbuild shares closed one cent higher at $1.05.

Source: Straits Times, 11 Feb 2010

SINGAPORE saw the steepest decline in office rents across 25 Asia-Pacific cities, but remains the third most costly office site after Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Grade A office occupancy costs in Singapore fell to US$53.78 (S$76) per sq ft per year in the fourth quarter of last year, down about 46 per cent from US$97.30 psf in the same period in 2008, said Colliers International’s latest Asia-Pacific office market overview.Costs are projected to stabilise at US$53.19 psf this year.

Hong Kong, which saw yearly Grade A occupancy costs fall 24.2 per cent from US$104.14 psf to US$78.92 psf, registered the next highest fall in office rents. The same costs in Tokyo slipped to US$101.39 psf, down from US$128.50 psf a year ago.

‘We are now much cheaper than Hong Kong,’ said Colliers International’s director of research and advisory Tay Huey Ying. ‘A year ago, though we were also ranked third, we were not that far off from Hong Kong and Tokyo.’

The gap in rents between Singapore and the top two most expensive cities – Tokyo and Hong Kong – has since widened to 88.5 per cent and 46.7 per cent respectively, from 32.1 per cent and 7 per cent previously, said the report.

‘With Asia-Pacific leading the world out of recession, the competitive office rent in Singapore now offers businesses a compelling reason to invest in or locate their operations here,’ said Ms Tay.

Average monthly Grade A office rent in Singapore’s central business district was $6.29 psf in the fourth quarter of last year, according to Colliers.

Oncoming supply of close to three million sq ft continues to weigh on the office market in the near term, so there may be some mild price erosion of up to 5 per cent, she said. But barring any external shocks, the local office downcycle is expected to bottom out in the second half of this year, she added.

Source: Straits Times, 11 Feb 2010

Q4 profit falls 12% on lower revaluation gains on investment properties

SOILBUILD Group Holdings should put up a strong showing this year as it looks to sell more units in its residential and industrial projects, says executive director Low Soon Sim.

‘After a challenging start to FY2009, the group has harnessed the recovery in the property sector with sales of 388 units worth $248 million, including all the residential units at The Mezzo as well as Woodlands BizHub, which was fully sold,’ Mr Low said.

Residential development contributed 84 per cent of FY2009 revenue of $320.1 million, while business space development accounted for 11 per cent. Soilbuild also derived 5 per cent of its revenue from rental properties.

This year, the group again expects residential development activity to bring in the bulk of revenue.

It will launch another 11 units at Meier Suites. Eleven homes in the 55-unit project were sold during the first phase of the launch. Soilbuild will also try to sell the remaining units at Leonie Parc View and Heritage 9.

Besides these, Soilbuild will start to market West Point Bizhub, its project with CSC Holdings, in FY2010. The project comprises 70 terraced factories. The group also said that recurrent rental income is poised to grow this year with the expected completion of Solaris at one-north.

For Q4 2009, Soilbuild reported a 12 per cent decline in net profit to $26.9 million, from $30.5 million a year back, due to lower revaluation gains on investment properties. Gross profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2009 rose 66 per cent to $30.9 million, from $18.6 million previously.

Revenue rose 27 per cent to $63.5 million, from $50 million a year earlier.

Soilbuild has declared a dividend of six cents a share and proposed a one-for-one share split to improve the liquidity of its shares, subject to approval of the Singapore Exchange and shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting. The company’s stock closed one cent higher at $1.05 yesterday.

Source: Business Times, 11 Feb 2010

It’s biggest fall in Asia-Pac, widening S’pore’s rental gap with HK, Tokyo

TOKYO, Hong Kong and Singapore remained the three most expensive office locations in the Asia-Pacific in the fourth quarter of 2009, according to a report from Colliers International.

But Grade A office rents in Singapore suffered the biggest fall in 2009 across all Asia-Pacific markets tracked. Rents here slid 46.2 per cent from Q4 2008, Colliers says in its latest Asia-Pacific office market overview.

Rents fell 24.2 per cent year on year in Hong Kong and 19.5 per cent in Tokyo.

‘Because of the steeper fall in Singapore, the gap in rents between Singapore and Tokyo and Hong Kong widened to 88.5 per cent and 46.7 per cent respectively in Q4 2009,’ said Colliers’ director of research and advisory Tay Huey Ying.

In Q4 2008, rents in Singapore were 32.1 per cent lower than those in Tokyo and just 7 per cent shy of Hong Kong.

On the other hand, the cost of occupying Grade A office space in Singapore versus cities such as Sydney, Ho Chi Minh City, Perth, Mumbai and Delhi has narrowed. Occupancy costs in Singapore were 30.3 to 115.1 per cent higher than those in these cities in Q4 2008, but the difference has fallen to 3.1 to 29.1 per cent in the past year.

‘This has greatly increased the competitiveness of Singapore vis-a-vis the rest of the region,’ said Ms Tay. ‘With the Asia-Pacific leading the world out of recession, the competitive office rents in Singapore are now a compelling reason to invest or locate operations here.’

In general, office leasing markets across Asia-Pacific are bottoming out. The pace of rental decline narrowed to less than one per cent quarter on quarter in Q4 2009.

Colliers attributed this to strong rents in cities such as Hong Kong and Chengdu, where the supply of new space remained tight and demand increased.

In Singapore, office leasing activity increased in Q4 2009 as businesses started to prepare for the upturn. Rents declined just 0.4 per cent from Q3.

Looking ahead, average office rents in the region are expected to grow again towards the end of 2010, Colliers said.

Source: Business Times, 11 Feb 2010

SINGAPORE’s first casino will open on Sunday at 12.18pm, together with a partial opening of Universal Studios.

A day of festivities at the Integrated Resort has been planned to mark the red-letter day, including the debut of its public attraction, Lake of Dreams, and evening previews at its Universal Studios theme park.

The casino opening is part of the initial phased opening of Singapore’s first IR that began on 20 Jan 2010 with the opening of its four hotels: Crockfords Tower; Hotel Michael; Festive Hotel; and Hard Rock Hotel Singapore. Its shopping and dining promenade, FestiveWalk, soft-opened on 30 Jan.

Resorts World Sentosa chairman, Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay said: ‘In less than three years since the time we broke ground and commenced construction for Resorts World Sentosa, we have taken our vision from drawing board to reality. This is a significant milestone in Singapore’s business history. We promised to deliver a true Integrated Resort, and we have not deviated from that.’

For sneak peek week, Universal Studios Singapore will open from 5pm to 9pm every night from 14 Feb to 21 Feb.

Admission will be by $10 tickets, rebated by a same-value dining voucher. Sale of the tickets starts from 11.18am on Friday, 12 Feb 2010. Guests can visit the box office at the Universal Studios Singapore front gate to purchase tickets for another day (there will be no same day ticket sales available).

Source: Straits Times, 11 Feb 2010