Kerry profit drops 9 pc to HK$782 mn in first six months of 2026

Kerry Properties (0683) made an underlying profit of HK$782 million, excluding non-cash changes in the fair value of investment properties, for the first half of 2026, dropping 9 percent from last year.

The company attributed the decrease to lower interest cost capitalization following the launch of Jinling Residences in Shanghai. Profit attributable to shareholders was HK$735 million, a year-on-year increase of 20 percent.

The group declared an interim dividend of 40 HK cents per share. 

The company revenue for the first half of the year fell 31 percent to HK$5.56 billion. 

Combined revenue decreased by 33 percent to HK$6.67 billion, of which revenue from Hong Kong property development plummeted by 59 percent to HK$2.54 billion, while revenue from mainland China property development increased by 1.8 times to HK$492 million.

Contracted sales during the period were HK$6.87 billion, a decrease of 58 percent, due to the pre-sales of Jinling Residences in Shanghai in the first half of 2025. Hong Kong projects contributed over 80 percent of the company’s total contracted sales. 

The gearing ratio as of late June was 31.3 percent, a decrease of 2 percentage points from the end of last year, attributed to the receipt of sales proceeds from development property projects, partly offset by land payments for newly acquired sites. 

The developer's rental business in Megabox saw a high occupancy rate of 95 percent.

Kerry expects the property market to remain stable throughout the year, with residential property prices rising by 11 to 12  percent, as the overall economic environment remains favorable for the housing market, according to Calvin Tong Yiu-chung, director and general manager, Hong Kong of Kerry Properties Limited.

Meanwhile, the company's properties in second- and third-tier cities in mainland saw slow sales, said chief financial officer Suzanne Cheng Wai-sin. The company has no plans to reduce prices, maintaining that its properties are of high quality and the company's finances are sound.

The company expressed a positive outlook on the long-term prospects of Hong Kong and the Mainland, despite acknowledging significant challenges and risks in the short to medium term, according to Kerry chief executive Kuok Khoon-hua. 

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