China Overseas Land & Investment's 1st Half Profit Drops Amid Property Market Downturn

By Tracy Qu

China Overseas Land & Investment's first-half earnings were hit by the soft macroeconomic environment and the crisis in the country's property sector.

The real estate company said on Wednesday that its net profit fell to 10.31 billion yuan (US$1.45 billion) for the six months ended June, compared with CNY13.49 billion for same period a year earlier. First-half revenue rose 2.5% on year to CNY86.94 billion.

The company's strategy of focusing on first-tier cities has "proven resilient and yielded fruitful results in the downward market," it said in the filing. In the first half of the year, the company achieved contracted sales of CNY74.40 billion in the four first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, accounting for 62.7% of total contracted sales, according to the filing.

"Looking ahead, the domestic economy and property market will continue to face multiple pressures and challenges," the company said.

China Overseas Land & Investment has been dragged by the slump in China's real estate market in recent years. Weakness in the sector saw China Evergrande, once one of China's largest property developers, ordered by a Hong Kong court in January to liquidate after defaulting on debt and failing to secure restructuring terms with its creditors.

Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 28, 2024 01:14 ET (05:14 GMT)

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