China Real Estate 4Q profit surges on heels of IPO

By The Associated Press

China Real Estate Information Corp., whose U.S.-traded shares debuted in October, said Tuesday that its fourth-quarter profit rose six-fold on rising demand for its database and consulting services and the big acquisition late last year.

CREI, based in Shanghai, took a 66 percent equity interest in China Online Housing Technology Corp. in October.

The U.S.-listed shares for the company peaked shortly after their Oct. 16 debut in an initial public offering that allowed U.S. investors to get a piece of China's booming real estate market. The company sells data and consulting services to real estate developers in China.

China Real Estate shares fell 35 cents, or about 3.5 percent Tuesday.

Including results from China Online in both comparison periods, the company reported net income attributable to China Real Estate shareholders of $32.4 million, or 24 cents per share, compared with $5.3 million, or 7 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2008.

Revenue more than tripled to $41.3 million for the three months ended Dec. 31, up from $13.6 million in the same quarter a year ago. About $13.8 million of last quarter's revenue was attributable to China Online Housing, with the remaining $27.5 million coming from China Real Estate.

Revenue from real estate consulting and information services jumped 67 percent to $21.9 million, while advertising services revenue surged to nearly $5.6 million from $472,000 in the year-ago period.

For the full year, the company reported net income attributable to China Real Estate shareholders of $55.6 million, or 63 cents per ADS, more than double the profit of $22.2 million, or 31 cents per ADS, in 2008. Revenue increased 91 percent in 2009, to $95.7 million from $50 million in 2008.

For this year's first quarter, China Real Estate expects revenue in the range of $24 million to $26 million, with $7 million to $8 million coming from China Online Housing.

China Real Estate is a subsidiary of real estate services company E-House Holdings Ltd. China Real Estate merged with the online real estate business of Chinese online portal Sina Corp. when China Real Estate completed its IPO.