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Hong Kong property
Business

Wharf’s first-half results improve, helped by resurgent sales of luxury homes in Hong Kong and strong consumption in China

  • Wharf’s underlying interim net loss narrowed by 53.5 per cent to HK$526 million (US$67.58 million), after an impairment provision of HK$3.65 billion
  • Including valuation gains, Wharf posted an interim net profit of HK$1.04 billion, swinging from a loss of HK$1.74 billion last year

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Aerial view of the Mount Nicholson luxury homes project, developed by Wharf Holdings, in Hong Kong, in June 2019. Photo: Martin Chan
Lam Ka-sing
Wharf Holdings, one of Hong Kong’s biggest builders of luxury homes and shopping centres, improved its first-half financial results, as strong sales of ultra-expensive residences and investment gains bolstered its bottom line.
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The company’s underlying interim net loss narrowed by 53.5 per cent to HK$526 million (US$67.58 million) from HK$1.13 billion loss in the first half of 2020, after an impairment charge of HK$3.65 billion, Wharf said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Including valuation gains and one-time gains, Wharf reported an interim net profit of HK$1.04 billion, swinging from a loss of HK$1.74 billion a year earlier.

Wharf’s fortunes were helped by strong sales of ultra luxury homes in the world’s most expensive urban centre. Five units of Wharf’s luxury project at 77/79 Peak Road were sold for a combined HK$3 billion, or up to HK$92,100 per square foot. It also sold a luxury apartment at the exclusive Mount Nicholson project for HK$490 million. Two town houses at 11 Plantation Road were leased by tender for a combined HK$2.2 million per month.

“Since a series of transactions of ultra-luxury housing in January and February, the following few months have become quiet,” said Stephen Ng, chairman and managing director, said at a briefing on Tuesday. “This fully matches the nature of the ultra-luxury housing market, where not every day has home sales. But when there are sales, they can sometimes be high.”

The resurgent sales of luxury homes underscores how the coronavirus pandemic has not impeded the fortunes or spending habits of the wealthy class. Wharf spent HK$15.6 billion to buy two prime residential land plots at The Peak in Hong Kong to further its grip on the city’s luxury residential market. In particular, the acquisition of two sites in Mansfield Road doubled the total attributable gross floor area to nearly 600,000 square feet.

Still, the luxury housing segment is characterised by long holding periods, Wharf said in its filing. Mount Nicholson, one of the most expensive addresses in Asia on a per square foot basis, may be a useful illustration in this regard, Wharf said. The site was bought in 2010. It was not until 2016 that the first property was sold. Two houses and 10 flats remain unsold, out of the entire project’s 19 houses and 48 apartments, which underscores how the internal rate of return will be weighed down by the long payback period, Wharf said.

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