City Developments - OCBC Investment 2019-08-13: Resilient Sales Momentum

CITY DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED (SGX:C09)

City Developments - Resilient Sales Momentum

CITY DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED (SGX:C09) reported its 2Q19 results which exceeded our expectations.
Revenue declined 37.5% y-o-y to S$850.4m and this was attributed largely to the lower profit recognition for development projects.
PATMI fell by a smaller magnitude of 26.4% y-o-y to S$162.4m due to lower net finance costs, income taxes and higher share of after-tax profit of associates and JVs. This formed 30.7% of our FY19 forecast.
For 1H19, City Developments’s revenue decreased by 34.0% y-o-y to S$1,596.5m but PATMI rose 18.3% to S$362.0m, with the latter constituting 68.5% of our full-year forecast.
A special interim dividend of 6.0 S cents per share was declared, similar to 1H18.

During 1H19, City Developments sold 505 residential units (-22.4%) with total sales value of S$1.55b (+20.6%) in Singapore, while 347 units were sold in China with a combined sales value of RMB1.08b (~S$213m).
Project launches in 2H19 so far include Haus on Handy (25 units out of 30 released sold at ASP of > S$2,850 psf), Nouvel 18 under PPS 3 (18 units out of 30 released sold at ASP of > S$3,300 psf) and Piermont Grand EC, which saw very strong take-up of 375 units sold on launch weekend at an ASP of S$1,080 psf. Project ASPs have largely tracked above our expectations so far.
Looking ahead, upcoming launches include Sengkang Grand Residences in 4Q19 (JV with CapitaLand (SGX:C31); 680 units) and Sims Drive (JV with Hong Leong Holdings; ~560 units).

Management is currently evaluating redevelopment opportunities within its portfolio to unlock value for its shareholders. Potential targets include Fuji Xerox Tower and City House, both of which may qualify for the CBD Incentive Scheme under the URA 2019 Draft Master Plan. Other redevelopment possibilities include Liang Court (JV with CapitaLand) and Central Mall.
Meanwhile, City Developments has acquired the remaining 62.5% interest which it does not own in the non-residential components of PPS 1, which comprise W Singapore (Sentosa Cove and Quayside Isle), valued at S$393m. While management alluded that W Hotel is performing well, it intends to carry out a small scale AEI on the hotel.
Following recent active acquisitions, City Developments highlighted that its comfortable net gearing ratio (including fair value gains) would be 50-60%, versus 32% as at 30 Jun 2019.
We maintain our S$10.68 fair value on City Developments.

OCBC Research Team OCBC Investment Research | https://www.iocbc.com/ 2019-08-13

SGX Stock Analyst Report BUY MAINTAIN BUY 10.680 SAME 10.680