Roxy-Pacific's Q1 profit up 11% at $10m

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...25540,00.html?

Published May 5, 2011

Roxy-Pacific's Q1 profit up 11% at $10m

By KALPANA RASHIWALA


ROXY-PACIFIC Holdings, which posted an 11 per cent rise in first quarter net profit to about $10 million, is planning to launch two projects for sale in the second half of this year. One is a five-storey freehold residential development at Toh Tuck Road that will have over 100 smallish apartments.

The other will involve additions and alterations works to Everitt Building at Changi Road, which will result in the addition of one and a half floors to the existing four-storey freehold property. Strata units for retail use will be carved out on the ground level, and office units on the second to fifth levels. Above that will be facilities like a swimming pool and a gym. The office and retail units will be sold. Roxy fully owns the Everitt Building property and has a 45 per cent share in the Toh Tuck project.

Roxy also owns a 20 per cent share in a consortium that owns 70 Shenton Way. The plan is to tear down the office block and redevelop it into a 60:40 commercial:residential project.

The commercial component will include retail units at street level and office units above that. These strata units, as well as the apartments in the proposed development, will be released for sale.

Singapore Land Authority has granted in-principal approval for topping up the site's lease to 99 years although the amount payable for this has not been made known yet, Roxy-Pacific executive chairman and CEO Teo Hong Lim told BT.

For the first quarter ended March 31, the group's revenue slipped 17 per cent year on year to $50.4 million; this was on the back of a 24 per cent decline in revenue from property development, which was partly offset by revenue increases of 13 per cent from the group's hotel business and 10 per cent from property investment.

The group owns the Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel and 51 retail units at The Roxy Square Shopping Centre in the East Coast area, as well as 37 commercial units at The Kovan Centre, which it will begin redeveloping soon into Space@ Kovan - comprising 140 apartments and 56 retail units; both components are nearly fully sold. The group achieved an average price of about $1,050-1,100 psf (inclusive of private enclosed spaces and open terrace areas) for the apartments and around $2,400-2,500 psf for the shop units.

The lower revenue from property development was largely due to progressive recognition of revenue from more development projects in Q1 2010 than in Q1 2011. In the latest Q1, the group recognised sales from seven projects - The Azzuro, The Verte, The Florentine, Nova 48, Nova 88, The Lucent and Studios@Tembeling.

The group's hotel posted a 20 per cent rise in revenue per available room on the back of a 22 per cent hike in the average room rate to $185.90 in Q1 2011. However, the average occupancy rate dipped from 93.5 per cent in Q1 2010 to 91.6 per cent in Q1 2011.

Roxy's net asset value per share stood at 28.26 cents as at Mar 31, 2011, up from 26.68 cents at Dec 31, 2010. Earnings per share rose from 1.42 cents in Q1 2010 to 1.58 cents in Q1 2011. On the stockmarket yesterday, the counter closed 1 cent lower at 44 cents.