APARTMENT developer Finbar Group and land developer Cedar Woods Properties have foreshadowed strong half-year profit results, continuing their lead over their listed property company peers.
Finbar has forecast an after-tax profit of about $14 million for the half year to December 2012 and reaffirmed its expectation of a record full-year result. The major contributor to the half-year result was the completion of 85 settlements at the company’s first Pilbara project, the Pelago West apartments in Karratha. The recently completed Lime project in East Victoria Park also contributed to earnings, with 20 lots transferred to buyers.
The $14 million profit forecast compares with a loss of $654,000 in the previous corresponding half-year period, when the company did not settle on any of its properties.
Looking further ahead, the balance of settlements for Lime, which has 111 lots, is expected to occur in the second half of the financial year.
The second-half result is also expected to include initial settlements on the Adagio apartment project on Terrace Road in East Perth.
Finbar said it had achieved $100 million in sales at Adagio, which is on schedule to reach practical completion in March 2013.
As a result, the company has reaffirmed its FY13 profit guidance, anticipating it will exceed last financial year’s record net profit of $28.3 million. Managing director Darren Pateman said the company was pleased to report a robust half-year performance to shareholders.
Meanwhile, Cedar Woods looks set to match its strong 2012 annual profit after reporting a jump in half-year earnings.
The company has reported an unaudited net profit after tax of approximately $18 million for the first half of the 2013 financial year - a 64 per cent increase on the same period last year.
That led the company to increase its full year profit guidance from $34 million to $35 million, compared with last year’s $34.3 million result.
Managing director Paul Sadleir said recent cuts to interest rates had helped Cedar Woods’ performance in the challenging housing market.
“Recent cuts to interest rates have improved housing affordability and we expect this to further improve consumer confidence and provide a boost to sales in 2013,” he said.
“We are confident of delivering our earnings guidance for the full year.”
