By Low De Wei
(Bloomberg) — CapitaLand Investment Ltd's shares fell nearly 6 per cent after the Singapore-based property asset manager posted a sharp drop in earnings, with valuation losses in one of its largest markets, China, still weighing on its profit.
The firm, majority-owned by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte, saw its net income for 2025 slump 70 per cent to S$145 million (US$115 million). The results, unveiled on Wednesday (11 Feb), came significantly below the S$663 million average estimate of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue fell 24 per cent to S$2.1 billion, largely matching the average analyst estimate.
The company incurred a fair value loss of S$545 million in China amid "challenging leasing conditions" hitting most of its asset classes, with its office occupancy there dipping slightly to 80 per cent. Chief Executive Officer Lee Chee Koon said in a statement that the firm will "accelerate capital recycling, including evaluating portfolio and structural solutions for its China assets."
The firm, which oversees about S$125 billion in assets mainly via private funds and various real estate investment trusts, has over the last few years bore the brunt of a difficult fundraising environment, high interest rates and a big exposure to China's troubled real estate sector. The Asia-focused company has been seeking to decrease its exposure to China and push into fast-growing markets such as India.
Chief Financial Officer Paul Tham said in a post-results briefing that occupancy is still expected to be weak in China and rents will fall further. The firm has written down about S$1.6 billion in its China valuations over the last five years, which works out to an average decline of 12 per cent. Tham said CapitaLand is willing to take discounts to sell assets if these were sold into a local yuan-denominated fund, and hopes to divest more than S$1 billion in assets there over the next six to 12 months.
Shares in CapitaLand Investment were down 5.7 per cent by afternoon trade after declining as much as 8.8 per cent, the largest drop since April. Still, the shares have outperformed since late last year on expectations of a potential combination with Temasek's other real estate asset manager, Mapletree Investments Pte. People familiar with the matter have previously said that CapitaLand Investment is exploring options including carving out its assets in China as part of a potential merger with the private manager.
CapitaLand Investment CEO Lee said on Wednesday that the firm was "actively looking a t deals" but he did not mention Mapletree by name.
Shares in CapitaLand Investment have gained 13 per cent from 1 Dec but are still underperforming with a 19 per cent decline over the past three years. The company has had a rocky transition since its listing as part of a major restructuring in 2021, when it was hived off from a development arm that is now privatised.
The firm has tried in part to offload China assets via a local listing of a real estate investment trust last year and is looking to launch another in the second or third quarter of this year.
(Updates throughout, adds comments from analyst briefing.)
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