SINGAPORE - Frasers Property Limited, a Singaporean multinational real estate and property management company, reported a significant drop in full-year profit as higher interest rates prompted fair value losses on commercial properties in the United Kingdom (UK), Australia and Europe.
The company said attributable profit fell 81% to S$173.1 million (US$127.2 million) for the financial year ended September, according to a statement late Friday.
The third-largest developer based in the city-state had earlier warned of a "significant decrease" in profit due to fair-value losses on properties in the UK, Australia and Europe, as markets slumped and interest rates rose. About 64% of the group’s real estate assets are outside of Singapore.
"Financial performance may be affected by external forces in certain years including the high interest rate environment, inflationary pressures, and ongoing global geopolitical and economic uncertainties," Group Chief Executive Officer Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi said in a statement.
Singapore's property sector, which has so far dodged the downturns seen in other major cities, has slowed due to weaker economic growth and multiple government interventions to cool the overheated market. Morgan Stanley estimates that home prices will decline 3% next year. Residential rents are forecast to fall as much as 10% in 2024, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ken Foong.
Frasers also proposed a dividend of S$0.045 per share. Its stock has dropped about 18% since the start of the year through Friday’s close.
