Kingboard boosts payout as net rises

June Chen

Chemicals and laminates producer Kingboard (0148) saw its interim net profit grow 8.4 percent to HK$1.51 billion compared to a year earlier thanks to a notable growth in demand for laminates, the company said.

Kingboard proposed an interim dividend of HK$0.4 apiece, which surged by 150 percent from HK$0.16 a year earlier.

The company's revenue rose by 9 percent to 20.4 billion yuan (HK$22.33 billion) as sales of its laminates segment increased by 7 percent to HK$8.88 billion, driven by the rapid development of the AI industry and the increased integration of electronic and smart applications in the automotive sector.

Its subsidiary Kingboard Laminates (1888) saw its net income in the first-half jump by 72 percent to HK$727.8 million with the interim dividend rising by 100 percent to HK$0.12 apiece.

Meanwhile, sales for Kingboard's property segment plunged by 43 percent to HK$190.6 million due to reduced delivery of residential properties compared to the same period last year. Revenues of the property division declined by 12 percent to HK$919.9 million.

Cheung Kwok-wing, chairman and co-founder of the group, said Kingboard has not purchased any land in the past five years, adding it plans to withdraw from the residential property market in the mainland and won't develop any new projects there.

But there are still opportunities to acquire rental properties in Hong Kong and the mainland, he said.

In other news, Kingboard unit Ever Credit has filed a winding-up petition against embattled mainland developer Country Garden (2007) for non-payment of a HK$1.6 billion loan.