CapitaLand Investment Profit Leaps 165% as Managed Funds Climb to $87B

CapitaLand Investment’s attributable profit surged 165 percent to S$479 million ($355 million) in 2024 as the Singaporean real asset manager cut revaluation losses and boosted fee income.

Full-year revenue rose 1 percent to S$2.8 billion, the SGX-listed giant said Thursday in a release. Revenue from fee-related business grew 9 percent to S$1.2 billion as private funds management recorded an increase of 10 percent.

The Temasek-controlled firm’s funds under management climbed by S$18 billion to reach S$117 ($86.8 billion), according to the 2024 results. The amount includes funds inherited from CapitaLand Investment’s to-be-completed buys of Singapore-based SC Capital Partners and Australia’s Wingate Group.

“CLI made steady progress on its strategic priorities and stayed focused on strategic capital deployment, disciplined capital recycling, and proactive capital management, achieving improved profitability,” said CapitaLand Investment chairman Miguel Ko.

Lightening Up

The investment management arm of property giant CapitaLand said divestments totalled S$5.5 billion last year, generating S$230 million in net portfolio gains from disposals.

The divestments were led by the sale of the firm’s half-stake in the ION Orchard luxury mall in Singapore’s premier shopping strip to CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust for S$1.85 billion. In China, where CapitaLand Investment has sought to optimise its portfolio and expand domestic capital partnerships, the firm sold the iHub Suzhou business park to a private fund for RMB 1.4 billion ($190 million).

“I am confident that we will be able to recycle more of our China assets and drive asset-light growth of our fund business in China by developing attractive products for both domestic and international investors,” said CapitaLand Investment CEO Lee Chee Koon, who noted that the firm was on track to reach its target of S$200 billion in funds under management by 2028.

CapitaLand Investment said it halved its balance-sheet assets from S$8.6 billion at the end of 2023 to S$4.3 billion a year later under its asset-light strategy. Still, the firm reported S$5.4 billion in investments in 2024, including S$450 million deployed for mergers and acquisitions.

M&A Growth

CapitaLand Investment’s acquisition of an initial 40 percent stake in SC Capital for S$280 million is expected to close in the first half of this year and boost the state-backed firm’s funds under management by S$11 billion.

Under the terms of the deal announced last November, CapitaLand Investment will invest a minimum of S$524 million in SC Capital’s fund strategies to support the growth of the platform, which sponsors the $3.4 billion Japan Hotel REIT.

In December, CapitaLand Investment announced its plan to buy Melbourne-based fund manager Wingate Group for A$200 million ($127.4 million), in a bid to extend its private credit business into Australia.

CapitaLand Investment intends to keep acquiring new platforms through M&A that will complement and add value to the business, CEO Lee said.