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Guangdong Investment, a mainland utility conglomerate with property interests, yesterday posted a net profit of HK$320 million (US$41 million) for the first 6 months of 2003, up 43.63 per cent from a year earlier.

In a statement, the company said that the profit increase was largely due to savings in finance costs of HK$301.8 million.

It said that the finance cost savings resulted from the completion of the debt refinancing of the water project last year. This refinancing lowered the interest cost from 7.7 per cent a year to a floating rate with spreads ranging from 1 per cent to 1.339 per cent above the benchmark rate.

Meanwhile, the company had repaid all its bank borrowings with the proceeds, amounting to HK$1.5 billion, from the disposal of non-core businesses, including brewery, tannery and tour operations.

Operating profit before finance costs fell 9 per cent to HK$846.48 million on turnover of HK$2.5 billion, down 25 per cent. Earnings per share increased to HK$0.528 from HK$0.354.

The company said that overall performance in 2003 first half took a hit from the suspension of water supply to Hong Kong for the whole month of June instead of the usual time in December for routine maintenance and repair. The schedule was moved up to June this year in preparation for the renovation project, the company said.

In addition, the company has made a provision of HK$129 million against its property assets, including hotel properties, in view of the regional property market slump.

It has also charged off HK$60 million on a joint venture project. These charges were partially offset by the writing back of HK$64 million provided for certain loans.

The company said that its strategy for the second half of the year would focus on completion of the capital reduction proposal, improving the performance of existing business and expanding the core business through acquisitions.

The completion of the capital reduction proposal should place the company in a position to resume payment of dividends in 2004 and beyond, the company said.

It is also seeking to further improve operational efficiency, manage costs aggressively and enhance the quality of its management and the competitiveness of its businesses. For example, it is continuing to develop new markets for its water-distribution business in and around Dongguan and Shenzhen.

The post-SARS recovery of tourism in Hong Kong, together with the influx of visitors from the mainland after the relaxation of controls are expected to help the company's hotel business to achieve better results in 2003 second half.

The company also said that its hotel management subsidiary would continue to expand by contracting to manage more hotels.

While the company is looking for acquisition opportunities to expand its core businesses, its major property project, a 47-storey office tower with a total floor area of 95,800 square metres in Guangzhou, is near completion.

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