Ho Bee Land sinks 6.4% to one-month low on lower H2 profit

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Ho Bee Land hit a one-month low on Wednesday (Feb 25) after the real estate developer posted a decline in earnings for its second half ended Dec 31.The stock fell as much as 6.4 per cent or S$0.16 to S$2.34 as at market open at 9.01 am, marking its lowest price in over a month. It last traded lower on Jan 23. While it regained some ground in intraday trade and climbed as high as S$2.45, it eventually retreated to finish the day at its intraday low of S$2.34, down by 6.4 per cent, with around 1.2 million shares transacted. Ho Bee Land on Tuesday posted a 50 per cent fall in net profit for its second half, to S$50.4 million from S$100.7 million in the year-ago period. Its revenue decreased 12 per cent to S$262.3 million from S$298 million previously. For financial year 2025, the group’s earnings declined 9 per cent on the year to S$100.2 million from S$109.6 million. Its revenue fell 17 per cent to S$440.1 million from S$528 million previously. Its board proposed a first and final dividend of S$0.05 per ordinary share for FY2025, an increase from S$0.04 in FY2024. This will be paid on May 22, after the May 13 record date.The declines in earnings followed the deconsolidation of biomedical and life sciences hub Elementum, alongside lower contributions from rental income and settlements of the group’s development properties. FY2025 rental income from the property portfolio in Singapore and London shrank by 10 per cent to S$239.9 million from S$265.7 million in the previous financial year. This was due to Elementum’s reclassification as a joint-controlled asset, following the sale of a 49 per cent stake in the project in August 2024, alongside decreased contributions from the group’s office properties in London – the two-building freehold asset, Apollo House and Lunar House, and 1 St Martin’s Le Grand.