Hong Kong’s Henderson Land trims dividend as Iran clouds outlook, China slump lingers

The earnings underscored how the city’s developers are shifting focus towards projects that can still generate cash flow, mainly high-end housing in Hong Kong and top-tier mainland cities, while waiting for offices and retail to recover.Recent geopolitical tensions, including the Iran war, had created “significant economic uncertainties”, prompting Henderson to adopt a more prudent financial approach despite solid residential sales, said chairmen Lee Ka-kit and Lee Ka-shing in a statement.The company hence cut its final dividend to HK$0.76 per share from HK$1.30 previously, even as Hong Kong’s residential market showed signs of improvement in the second half of the year.Henderson said profit attributable to equity shareholders fell 10 per cent in 2025 to HK$5.65 billion (US$721.6 million) after taking fair losses into account. Underlying profit dropped a steeper 38 per cent to HK$6.06 billion, largely because the previous year included large gains from land resumptions and asset disposals.The Hong Kong residential market recovery helped lift Henderson’s development revenue in Hong Kong by 23 per cent to HK$15.2 billion, driven by launches such as the Mid-Levels project The Legacy and several luxury developments along the former Kai Tak runway.