GLP Q3 Net Profit Up 3.4% - Seeks New Deals in China

Global Logistic Properties (GLP), announced on February 14th that its third-quarter net profit rose 3.4 per cent on-year to US$86.3 million primarily due to increased revenue from its China operations.

Revenue for the quarter ended December rose 18.8 per cent to US$144.7 million.

GLP, which develops and operates logistics real estate projects in China and Japan, said its revenue from developments in China rose 81 per cent to US$41.5 million due to the income from completed projects and the contribution from the acquisition of Airport City Development in January last year.

The company's management said in a conference call that it would seek to grow not only through strong domestic consumption in China but also through opportunistic deals in large markets.

"Due to the robust demand, we are currently 70 per cent preleased on developments which are being delivered through March 2012," GLP deputy chairman Jeffrey Schwartz said. "We have a strong balance sheet in China and Japan, and there's a shortage of capital among our competitors, given the lack of bank credit." 

Looking forward, GLP CEO Ming Mei said prospects in China and Japan are optimistic.

"We see growth opportunities in both China and Japan and we will focus on continuing to grow our footprint profitably while extending our value chain of services that help our customers do business better," Mr Ming said. He added that the company would use the $1.8 billion in cash on its own books as well as backing from GIC and CIC to buy more warehouses.

During the most recent quarter, GLP expanded into four new Chinese cities - Hefei, Jinan, Langfang and X'ian, as well as opening new projects in other cities in China.