Wharf swings to 2024 loss as mainland China write-downs add to sales slump, office glut

Wharf (Holdings) swung to a loss last year after the commercial property developer wrote down the value of its projects in mainland China amid the nation’s real estate slump.

The owner of Times Square shopping centre and office towers in Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay reported a loss of HK$3.22 billion (US$414 million), from a HK$945 million profit, after a write-down of as much as HK$5.99 billion from the revaluation of its investment properties.

Its underlying net profit, a reflection of the company’s business operations after excluding revaluations, fell 21.5 per cent to HK$2.8 billion. It set aside HK$2.02 billion in impairment provision, according to a Hong Kong stock exchange filing on Thursday.

Wharf’s shares fell 4.7 per cent to HK$19.40 each in Hong Kong, after plunging as much as 8.8 per cent in the biggest intraday drop since November 2022.

“Despite various government policy measures to strengthen the residential market and boost buying sentiment, sales remained slow as policy effects needed time to materialise,” Wharf said, adding that the office inventory moved slowly with minimal market demand. The rebuilding of consumer confidence remains “challenging”, the company said.