China Developers Flag Worst Earnings in Years on Historic Slump

(Bloomberg) — China’s unprecedented housing slump and construction halt led to the worst earnings for real estate developers in at least seven years, according to Bloomberg estimates.

Among 60 mainland-listed property firms that made profit alerts by a Jan. 31 deadline, 60% expected losses for last year, when a credit crunch sent shockwaves through the industry and triggered defaults, Bloomberg calculations based on public data show. Only 5% of firms turned profitable, while another 5% saw net income growing from a year earlier. The rest said profit fell.