Hong Kong owner of Times Square projects cloudy outlook as pandemic lingers, Louis Vuitton and luxury retailers desert malls
- Company says underlying full-year net profit for 2020 decreased by 23.6 per cent to HK$7.48 billion
- Group is not alone in dealing with decline in retail and hotels market, ‘but rather it is a problem that the city is facing’, chairman says
The company on Thursday reported a 23.6 per cent slide in 2020 net profit to HK$7.48 billion (US$963.8 million), along with a net investment properties revaluation deficit of HK$13.77 billion.
“It is cloudy and rainy in 2021,” chairman and managing director Stephen Ng Tin-hoi said during an online media briefing on its financial report, referring to its business outlook. “I do not dare to say that heavy rain will not be back.”
The pandemic has devastated the company’s businesses. Visitor arrivals in Hong Kong have dropped to a trickle since February last year, while retail sales have continued to decline, notably by 13.6 per cent year on year in January, amid a resurgence of coronavirus cases.
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