Wharf Real Estate (01997), which operates Tsim Sha Tsui Harbour City and Causeway Bay Times Square, reported a profit of $6.989 billion in the first half of the year and a profit of 2.3 yuan per share
Both fell 31% year-on-year, excluding investment property revaluation. The underlying profit was 51.84. 100 million yuan, up 3% year-on-year, and an interim dividend of 1.1 yuan, an increase of 5%.
Medium-term base profit increased by 3%
For the second half of the market outlook, Wharf’s Chairman Wu Tianhai said that Hong Kong is facing a “perfect storm” (perfect storm), which is affected by local and external factors. The storm may be bigger than before. It is expected that July and August and the whole The retail market in the second half of the year is not optimistic.
During the period of Wharf Property, the revenue was 8.498 billion yuan, up 4.2% year-on-year. In the retail mix, revenue increased by 4.5% to $5.4 billion. Among them, the revenue of Harbour City shopping malls increased by 6% to 3.994 billion yuan. The current rent rose by 4% to 508 yuan per square foot. The income of Times Square shopping mall was 1.062 billion yuan. Compared with the same period of last year, the average rent remained stable at 290 yuan per square foot; the income of Diamond Hill Hollywood Plaza decreased by 2% to 284 million yuan. In addition, hotel revenue rose 9% to 906 million yuan.
Wu Tianhai admits that the retail market and weak demand in the first half of the year were mainly affected by external factors including the Sino-US trade war, the global economic downturn, the strength of the Hong Kong dollar, and Hong Kong’s own problems. He also pointed out that the company’s performance in the second quarter was worse than the first quarter, but it was not a sharp drop, but it slowly deteriorated. The strength of the Hong Kong dollar is not good for Hong Kong’s retail catering and hotel industry. In particular, the renminbi has recently “broken 7” and has given the market a greater warning.
More than 50% of the office building in Hong Kong
The three retail outlets of the Group’s retail sales accounted for a total of 10% of the retail sales market in the period. In the past, the sales of Harbour City and Times Square will outperform the overall retail market and ask whether the Group’s retail performance will still be better in the second half of the year. In the market, he bluntly said that the current situation is difficult to predict. Hong Kong is facing a “perfect storm”, which is pinched by local and external factors. The storm does not rule out more than before. He expects that the retail market in July and August and the rest of the month is not optimistic. There are still uncertainties. The recent demonstrations are only one. For the company, the tenant business in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui is more difficult to do. He added that the hotel is closely related to retail sales. I believe the overall hotel industry is not optimistic in the second half of the year.
Li Yufang, vice chairman of the company, revealed that in addition to the increase in the business volume of supermarkets in recent months, all types of merchant businesses, including jewellery and electrical appliances, fell. In the first half of the year, there was a unit increase in rents. In the second half of the year, depending on market conditions, there were no business owners. Reduce rent requirements. In addition, the Weihao Court in Tsim Sha Tsui was converted into an office building. The project has been completed and more than half of the floor area has been leased. Under the influence of uncertainties, there may be downward pressure on office rent.