SOHO China posts mixed H1 financial results

SOHO China Ltd, a major office developer in Beijing and Shanghai, posted a drop in net profit for the first six months of 2020, despite an increase in revenue, mainly due to a lack of valuation gains.

Net income stood at 205 million yuan (US$29.6 million) between January and June, compared with 567 million yuan registered in the same period a year ago, the Beijing-based developer said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday.

However, this could represent year-on-year growth of 39 percent if value gains on investment properties are excluded. Excluding valuation gains, net profit for the first half of 2019 totaled 148 million yuan, the company said.

Revenue, meanwhile, jumped 63 percent from a year ago to 1.45 billion yuan, mainly boosted by sales of car parking spaces. 

Rental income fell 12 percent year over year to 782 million yuan during the six-month period, while the average occupancy rate for the company's stabilized investment properties stood at 78 percent as of June 30, down from 90 percent as of December 31, 2019, mainly due to negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said.