SINGAPORE (Feb 26): CapitaLand’s board and senior management have taken the cue from parent company Temasek Holdings, in a belt-tightening measure amid the covid-19 outbreak.
With effect from April 1, they will cut their own pay and directors’ fees by between 5 and 15%. A wage freeze has been implemented on all other staff at managerial level and above.
These measures, which will be reviewed six months after, were announced earlier this morning when the company reported its full-year earnings – which includes contributions from the newly-acquired Ascendas-Singbridge.
For the year ended Dec 31 2019, CapitaLand reported earnings of $2.1 billion, up 21.2% y-o-y. Revenue in the same period was up 11.3% to $6.2 billion.
For 4QFY2019, earnings nearly doubled y-o-y to $926.6 million. The increase was mainly due to better operating performance, higher gains from asset recycling and revaluation of investment properties.
The company’s net debt to equity ratio, which increased from 0.56 times to 0.73 times in 2QFY2019 because of funding tapped to fund the Ascendas-Singbridge deal, has been reduced to 0.63 times as at end FY2019 – a year ahead of the original target.
Despite the higher earnings over FY2018, CapitaLand prefers to remain prudent and will be keeping its dividend at 12 cents per share.
“With a strong balance sheet, CapitaLand is well-positioned to continue to pursue growth and be ready to seek counter-cyclical opportunities,” says group CEO Lee Chee Koon.
