Cheung Kong’s Profit Rises on China Sales and Hutchison Gains

Cheung Kong Holdings Ltd. (1), the builder controlled by Asia’s richest man, said 2013 profit rose 10 percent as property sales grew in mainland China and the contribution from unit Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. increased. Net income rose to HK$35.3 billion ($4.5 billion) from HK$32 billion a year earlier, billionaire Li Ka-shing’s developer said in a statement to Hong Kong’s stock exchange. That compares with a HK$29.6 billion average estimate from six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Excluding Hutchison’s contribution, profit rose 3 percent to HK$19.7 billion, Cheung Kong said. Home sales in China last year exceeded $1 trillion for the first time as property prices surged in the absence of further nationwide housing curbs and as local measures failed to deter buyers. In contrast, Hong Kong’s builders sold the fewest homes in almost two decades in 2013 as the government stepped up measures to prevent a bubble in the world’s most expensive housing market. “Their sales in China are offsetting the poor performance in Hong Kong,” Alfred Lau, a Hong Kong-based property analyst at Bocom International Co., said before the announcement. “The developer had weak sales in Hong Kong last year and didn’t market many projects, which will affect this year’s earnings.” Sales of the group’s operating activities in the mainland grew to HK$16.4 billion from HK$11.9 billion a year earlier, Cheung Kong said. Net income at Hutchison rose to HK$31.1 billion, compared with the HK$29.7 billion average estimate by 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Source :  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-28/cheung-kong-s-profit-rises-on-china-sales-and-hutchison-gains.html