Australand Returns to First-Half Profit on Investment Property
July 26, 2010, 8:28 PM EDTBy Nichola Saminather
July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Australand Property Group, the Australian unit of Singapore’s CapitaLand Ltd., returned to profit in the first half, driven by its investment properties.
Net income was A$72.2 million ($65.1 million) in the six months ended June 30, from a A$268.8 million loss a year earlier, the Sydney-based company said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange today. Operating profit was A$60.4 million, from A$60 million a year ago.
“A quality investment portfolio with a good tenant base” is one of Australand’s strengths, Simon Wheatley, an analyst at Goldman Sachs JBWere, wrote in a note earlier this month when he initiated coverage of the stock with a “hold” rating.
Australand has benefitted from demand for residential properties in Australia, driven by a growing population and a housing shortage. Stable rents and relatively low vacancy rates in its office portfolio also helped boost earnings, it said.
Operating profit for 2010 will be similar to the A$168.8 it saw in 2009, Australand said.
Australand shares were up 0.8 percent at 10:10 a.m. in Sydney trading.
--Editors: Malcolm Scott, Brett Miller
To contact the reporter on this story: Nichola Saminather in Sydney at Nsaminather1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andreea Papuc at apapuc1@bloomberg.net
