Hong Kong’s Swire Pacific posts record US$4.6 billion profit on Cathay boost, eyes healthcare growth amid soft property market
- Conglomerate reports record profit of HK$36.2 billion (US$4.6 billion) for 2023, nearly eight times better than 2022’s HK$4.7 billion
- Real estate arm Swire Properties saw profit rise by a third to HK$11.6 billion
Swire Pacific is betting on healthcare investments in mainland China and Indonesia as an area of growth while Hong Kong’s office property market is likely to remain soft for the year.
The Hong Kong-based conglomerate reported record underlying profit of HK$36.2 billion (US$4.6 billion) for 2023, nearly eight times better than the HK$4.7 billion it earned in 2022, mainly thanks to the post-Covid uplift from its aviation unit Cathay Pacific Airways, it said in a filing with the Hong Kong exchange on Thursday.
Real estate arm Swire Properties saw profit rise by a third to HK$11.6 billion, while aircraft maintenance and engineering firm Haeco posted 86 per cent growth in recurring profit, buoyed by improved sentiment in the aviation industry. The beverage business, Swire Coca-Cola, on the other hand, had flat recurring profit, the company said.
Swire Pacific is ramping up its investment in healthcare following an agreement in December with the Indonesia Investment Authority for a joint investment in Indonesia Healthcare Corporation. The hospital group in Southeast Asia’s most populous nation owns a majority stake in 37 hospitals and 66 clinics.
