SOHO China net income up 8 percent in 2019

SOHO China Ltd, a major office developer in Beijing and Shanghai, recorded single-digit net income growth and moderate revenue gains in 2019.

The company's net profit attributable to equity shareholders reached 1.33 billion yuan (US$188 million) during the 12-month period ending December, an 8 percent increase from 2018, when excluding non-recurring profit from the disposal of Sky SOHO, the Beijing-based developer said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Wednesday.

Revenue totaled around 1.85 billion yuan, a rise of 11 percent from 2018, if excluding rental income from the disposed Sky SOHO.

Last year, SOHO China completed and delivered two new projects, one in Shanghai and the other in Beijing. Completed in the first quarter of 2019, Gubei SOHO in the city's Changning District was about 67 percent leased as of year-end. Leeza SOHO, located in Lize business district of Beijing, was completed in the fourth quarter, according to the statement.

The average occupancy rate at the company's major investment properties slipped to around 90 percent at the end of 2019 as the broader market took a southward trend.

Shares of SOHO China, which proposed no dividend for 2019, closed 1.46 percent higher at HK$3.48 (45 US cents) on Wednesday after reaching an intraday high of HK$3.64.