Shun Tak profits plunge 65 pct in H1

Profits attributable to owners of Hong Kong-listed conglomerate Shun Tak Holdings shrank to HK$387 million (US$48.2 million) for the first half of the year from HK$1.1 billion one year ago, slumping 64.9 per cent year-on-year.
According to the company’s filing with Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday, its turnover during the period dived 42.9 per cent year-on-year to HK$2.13 billion, as compared to HK$3.73 billion during the same period last year.
The plunge in the interim result is due to profits generated by the property segment being slashed to HK$151 million from HK$563 million one year ago, dropping nearly73.2 per cent year-on-year, although the Group’s transportation business posted an increase of 76 per cent in profit to HK$174 million from HK$99 million during the same period of last year.
Nonetheless, it noted that its ferry company TurboJET’s flagship Hong Kong-Macau route experienced a marginal decrease of 2 per cent in terms of passenger throughput.
‘It is due to weakened tourist arrivals in both Hong Kong and Macau as a result of exchange rate fluctuations among the region’s major currencies and adjusted tourism policies from Macau Government, the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Asia as well as regional competition,’ the company said.
The hospitality and investment businesses of the company, meanwhile, generated profits of HK$49 million and HK$169 million during the first half of the year, respectively.
Macau portfolio
In the filing, Shun Tak said 118 units of its new residential Nova Park project in Taipa had been sold during the six months, taking the cumulative number of sold flats in the building to 611 units, or 99 per cent of the total as at the end of June.
The company indicated that the last recorded average selling price for the batch launched in June 2015 reached around HK$11,300 per square foot.
Meanwhile, operating two hotels in the city – Mandarin Oriental and Grand Coloane Resort – the company said the average occupancy rate of the hotels had declined to 48 per cent and 56 per cent during the period, respectively.
On the other hand, Macau Tower posted a 15 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue, contributed to by improvements in its MICE business, restaurants, AJ Hackett adventure activities and observation deck during the six months, according to the filing.