Singapore’s CDL Posts 3.9% H1 Profit Growth as Kwek Family Feud Recedes

City Developments Ltd posted a 3.9 percent year-on-year rise in attributable profit to S$91.2 million ($71.2 million) for the first half of 2025, with the Singaporean giant turning the page after a boardroom tussle marred the early months of the year.

CDL’s six-month revenue totalled S$1.7 billion, up 8 percent from the year-earlier period, as the property development segment delivered better performance, the SGX-listed builder said Wednesday in a release. The results include full profit recognition from the sold-out Copen Grand executive condo project, a joint venture with Hongkong Land unit MCL Land, following the EC’s completion in April.

The upbeat earnings report comes five months after CDL’s executive chairman, tycoon Kwek Leng Beng, withdrew a lawsuit against his son, company CEO Sherman Kwek, in which the father had alleged that the scion bypassed the group’s nomination committee to make changes to the CDL board’s composition.

“1H 2025 marked a pivotal chapter for our group as we overcame internal challenges with tenacity and fortitude,” the billionaire chairman said. “We have put past issues behind us, emerging stronger and more unified.”

Foreign Exchange Hit

CDL’s performance was hurt by a net foreign exchange loss of S$63.1 million in the first half after a gain of S$51.3 million in the year-ago period. Excluding those effects, attributable profit would have jumped 322.7 percent to S$154.3 million, the group said.

The US dollar’s depreciation had a significant impact, primarily due to dollar-denominated intercompany loans extended to fund previous US hotel buys and working capital requirements.

“This net foreign exchange loss, coupled with weaker performance from the hotel operations segment, resulted in this segment reporting a loss for 1H 2025,” CDL said.

The property development segment remained the largest revenue contributor with a 24.3 percent rise, driven by contributions from Singapore projects The Myst, Norwood Grand and Union Square Residences and the disposals of the Ransome’s Wharf site in London and the office component of Suzhou Hong Leong City Center in China.

Revenue in the investment properties segment inched up 0.4 percent on contributions from Republic Plaza, Jungceylon Shopping Center, City Square Mall and living sector projects in Britain and Japan, offset by lower contributions from the group’s UK commercial properties.

Highlighting the group’s capital recycling programme, Sherman Kwek pointed to over S$1.5 billion in contracted divestments during the year to date, with the completion of the sale of CDL’s 50.1 percent stake in the South Beach mixed-use development in the third quarter expected to boost the group’s divestment gains by a further S$465 million.

“These efforts aim to strengthen our capital position and optimise our portfolio,” the CEO said. “Looking ahead, while the operating environment remains fluid, the potential easing of interest rates offers further upside as we continue to pursue our capital recycling and fund management initiatives.”

Aggressive Bidder

As part of its active replenishment strategy, CDL has entered the top bids for three Singapore sites under the Government Land Sales programme this year.

The builder submitted the highest bid of S$360.9 million for an EC site at Woodlands Drive 17 in the city-state’s northern reaches, the Housing & Development Board announced after the tender’s closing on Tuesday of last week. That day also saw the closing of the tender for Senja Close, an EC site in western Singapore’s Bukit Panjang area, as CDL placed the top bid of S$252.9 million. Decisions on the tenders are expected to be announced at a later date.

In June, CDL overcame five rival bids for the Lakeside Drive site in the Jurong Lake area with an offer of S$608 million. The tender was awarded less than a week later.

CDL shares closed more than 7 percent higher at S$6.80 in Wednesday’s trading session.