Rowsley Q2 profit slumps amid property slowdown

Singapore developer Rowsley has reported a net profit of $0.5 million for the second quarter ended 30 June 2015, down significantly from $6.1 million during the same period last year.

Group revenue also fell 20 percent to $17.8 million from $22.1 million previously. To boost the firm's bottom line, Rowsley purchased a 34.72 percent stake in RSP Design Consultants (India) for $20.6 million. This comes amid a slowdown in Singapore's property market which has reduced wholly-owned subsidiary RSP's contributions to the group in Q2.

"Our latest investment in India will help to diversify our earnings base and is part of our overall strategy to grow our overseas income and deliver enhanced, sustainable value to shareholders," said Rowsley chief executive officer Lock Wai Han.

"Management has been actively working on other investment prospects outside Singapore and will announce the acquisitions when they are firmed up," he added.

The group is currently building the $2.2 billion Vantage Bay integrated project in Iskandar Malaysia despite prevailing challenges in the high-end residential market. It is evaluating suitable strategies to address market conditions there.

Meanwhile, Rowsley remains confident in the long-term fundamentals of Iskandar and believes the region will continue to attract foreign investments in areas such as manufacturing, oil and gas, media, education and tourism.

Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg

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