Agile Property’s 2014 sales fall short of target

For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Guangzhou-based property developer Agile Property Holdings Ltd gained 44.16 billion yuan (US$7.12 billion) from its housing presales, realised from deals with the average selling price at 9,625 yuan per square metre, the company told its unaudited operational data to Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday.
For Agile Property, popular amongst local and Hong Kong investors for its residential projects in mainland, the full-year accumulated presales figure still falls short of the company’s yearly sales target at 48 billion yuan.
Agile Property’s gain of 44.16 billion yuan from housing presales represented a year-on-year rise by nearly 9.5 per cent, realised from sales of the corresponding gross floor area at 4.59 square metres. The average selling price at 9,625 yuan per square metre for presales achieved in 2014 also represented a fall by 17 per cent when compared with the previous year.
The developer has had a tough fourth quarter last year over the alleged bribe-related probe into the company’s management, the shelving of a rights issue plan and the pressure to extend its short-term loan repayment period.
Mr Chen Zhuo Lin has only resumed his duties as the Hong Kong-listed Agile Property’s chairman, executive director and president since December 14, following the episode of Kunming City People’s Procuratorate’s notice of a “designated residence” imposed onto Mr Chen in late September last year.
The “designated residence” applied was related to alleged bribe of Yunnan province officials from the developer, mainland Chinese media reported at the time.