Hong Kong’s largest developer by market capitalization, Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) achieved stable profit growth amid a pressured commercial environment.
During July 2023 to June 2024, SHKP’s gross rental income, including contributions from joint ventures and associates, increased by 3% year-on-year to HK$24.99 billion ($3.2 billion), and net rental income rose by 3% year-on-year to HK$19 billion.
In Hong Kong, SHKP has a retail portfolio of over 12 million sq ft, a majority of which is flagship or regional shopping malls located along railway lines with mature transportation networks. The retail portfolio registered a moderate increase in rental income during the year with a relatively stable occupancy of about 94%, including landmark integrated projects such as New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, flagship shopping mall APM, and Hong Kong's leading leisure destinations, IFC Mall, etc.
With many years of experience in building large-scale integrated projects in Hong Kong, SHKP has invested in and built a number of landmark commercial complexes in cities across mainland China.
The gross rental income derived from the mainland rental portfolio, including contributions from joint ventures and associates as well as additional contributions from newly completed projects, increased by almost 8% year-on-year to HK$6.3 billion. The growth was driven by the retail portfolio on the mainland, which registered a gross rental income of approximately HK$4.2 billion, up 12.5% year-on-year. The new projects launched in the review period, Nanjing IFC Mall and Three ITC Tower A in Shanghai, also drove the increase.
Although there are many large-scale integrated commercial projects in the centre of cities, SHKP strives to enhance sustainability and green features throughout its projects. SHKP’s integrated commercial project in the Mong Kok district in Hong Kong will be developed as the “Green Heart” of Mong Kok, with many green, sustainable elements. One of the highlights is the preservation of three banyan trees which are more than 60 years old. In addition, SHKP aims to plant more than 50 trees in the project to achieve 30% in greenery coverage and 1,250kg in annual carbon dioxide absorption.
Meanwhile, the firm has introduced a series of innovative, friendly environmental initiatives incorporating green elements in promotions of its malls. For example, Parc Central in Guangzhou organized eco-themed activities and is the first mall in the city to launch a green reward app which encourages shoppers to adopt eco-friendly habits; retrofitting of LED lighting at Shanghai IFC Mall reduced power requirements by 103 kilowatts; and modification of the high voltage power system and installation of high-pressure heat pumps at IAPM Mall in Shanghai resulted in the saving of 1.29 million hours of electricity and 460,000 cubic meters of natural gas annually.