Keppel Land's Q4, full-year earnings fall on lower fair value gain

KEPPEL Land on Wednesday evening reported a 21.6 per cent drop in net profit to S$444.52 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, as a result of a lower fair value gain on its investment properties.

The lower net profit was despite a 39.5 per cent increase in sales to S$705.38 million, fuelled by the divestment of the Al Mada Towers in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as well as new revenue streams from Phase 1 of Seasons Residence in Shanghai and Phase 1 of Park Avenue Heights in Chengdu which were both completed in December 2014.

This brings its full-year earnings to S$752.49 million, a 15.1 per cent drop from a year ago, while revenue has inched up 2.5 per cent to S$1.50 billion.

The group has proposed a final dividend of 14 Singapore cents per share, compared with 13 cents paid in 2013. The dividend is expected to be paid on or about May 7, 2015 upon shareholders' approval.