Real estate brokers Hiyes International Co (海悅國際開發) and Sinyi Realty Inc (信義房屋) both saw their earnings bolstered by a pickup in property transactions in the first quarter of this year, and expect the growth momentum to sustain this quarter and beyond.
Net profit at Hiyes soared to NT$919.11 million (US$28.44 million) from NT$30.41 million a year earlier, with earnings per share (EPS) rising from NT$0.26 to NT$7.93, the nation’s largest real estate agency by market share said in a statement on Monday.
The showing came after Hiyes’ net profit last year gained 77.16 percent to a record NT$1.66 billion, with EPS of NT$13.86, which allowed the firm to propose a NT$7 per share cash dividend and a NT$2 stock dividend pending approval at the company’s annual general meeting on June 18.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Hiyes attributed its first-quarter performance to the nation’s buoyant economy, government interest subsidies and other favorable lending terms for first-home purchases.
Furthermore, capacity expansion plans by major local technology firms, chiefly Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), helped create jobs in different parts of the nation and lent support to real demand for new housing, the company said.
Hiyes also reaped NT$255 million in profit contributions from its private equity investments in construction companies, as the company continues to diversify its income sources to offset uneven seasonal profit distributions, it said.
Developers cannot recognize profits until completing construction of presale houses and delivering them to the buyers, largely in the fourth quarter of the year. The accounting rules make earnings in the slow season look weak.
The current quarter is a relatively low season, but Hiyes has accumulated more than NT$100 billion of projects, which would help subdue unfavorable seasonal effects, it said.
Hiyes said it is positive about its mid to long-term earnings outlook, as it has made arrangements to book profits from investments and non-core operations.
Sinyi Realty, the nation’s only listed broker, posted NT$459 million in net income during the first quarter of the year, a 8.42 percent decline from a year earlier, with EPS of NT$0.62.
The retreat came even though existing home transactions last quarter rebounded 26 percent to 81,000 units, lifting its income by 46.86 percent to NT$995 million, the company said.
However, the company’s property development arm failed to report any profits, it said.
Sinyi is not worried about its financial results going forward, saying that the property market would likely continue to recover on the back of the government’s interest subsidies and the wealth effect linked to the rising TAIEX.
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