Tuan Sing 4Q earnings more than double to $119.5 mil on fair value gains

SINGAPORE (Jan 31): Tuan Sing Holdings reported earnings of $119.5 million for 4Q18, rising 140% from $49.8 million a year ago on higher fair value gains.

The latest set of quarterly results brings Tuan Sing’s FY18 earnings to a total of $134.4 million, up 115% from $62.6 million in the previous year.

Revenue for the quarter fell 13% to $83.3 million from $96.1 million previously, mainly due to lower sales of residential development projects and a decrease of revenue from the hotels business.

In line with the revenue decline, cost of sales fell 15% to $64.5 million from $76.1 million a year ago.

Notably, fair value adjustments more than doubled to $113.2 million from $44.9 million in 4Q19. This was due to a fair value gain of $68.6 million arising from the revaluation of investment properties, partially offset by a decrease in fair value of currency forward contracts.

Earnings per share (EPS), including fair value adjustments, was 10 cents for 4Q18 and 11.3 cents for the full year, as opposed to 4.2 cents and 5.3 cents in 4Q17 and FY17, respectively.

Looking ahead, Tuan Sing says it expects to be profitable for 2019.

The group remains cautiously optimistic on the Singapore property market despite cooling measures, and expects Melbourne Grand Hyatt to continue generating recurring income in Australia. It also expects cash proceeds from its recent sale of Century Warehouse to further strengthen the balance sheet of the group.

Shares in Tuan Sing closed flat at 40 cents on Wednesday.