Swire Properties (1972.HK): IH26 Operation: Positive Surprise on Higher PP Office Rent; Retail Remains Strong

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31 Jul 2026 09:33:53 ET │ 12 pages

Swire Properties (1972.HK)

1H26 Operation: Positive Surprise on Higher PP Office Rent; Retail

Remains Strong

CITI'S TAKE

Swire Properties announced its 1H26 operating statement. Retail: retail

sales growth stayed strong across its malls in mainland China and Hong

Kong, with a few malls even delievered accelerated yoy growth vs 1Q26 (e.g.,

Sanlitun +63%, PP +15%) despite a more normalised market backdrop.

Office: occupancy +2pts to 98% at PP and +1pts at Taikoo Place, with Two

Taikoo Place hitting 80% for the first time. Negative reversion continued as

expected, while PP1/PP2’s 5% rent increase was a pleasant surprise (back

to 1Q24 level). See details in Figure 1.

Retail: strong sales supports positive retail outlook — Retail sales outpaced the

broader retail market, with HKRI Taikoo Hui (+82%yoy) and Sanlitun (+63%)

standing out and decent 10-15% growth at Chengdu & Qiantan. This was driven by

luxury flagship attractions, tenant remixing initiatives and event-driven

consumptions. Harvesting from its asset enhancement & reconfiguration works in

2024-25, we expect the company likely continues to outperform the market in

2H26E. Both of Swire’s CN and HK retail has been enjoying positive reversions, and

the strong SSSG offers further upside to turnover rent and 2H26 reversion

prospects, in our view.

n

Buy

Price (31 Jul 26 16:10)

HK$23.90

Target price

HK$28.80

Expected share price return

20.5%

Expected dividend yield

5.1%

Expected total return

25.6%

Market Cap

HK$137,604M

US$17,545M

Price Performance

(RIC: 1972.HK, BB: 1972 HK)

Office: PP office rent increased; better occupancy — The biggest surprise was the

increase in PP1/2 office rents to HK$90-100 psf, after remaining in the HK$85-95

range for six quarters since 4Q24. We believe the 5% uplift likely marks an early stage

of a rental upcycle, supported by demand spillover from Central & improving leasing

momentum. This increases our confidence in a narrowing negative rental reversion

outlook for PP in 2H26-27E. At Two Taikoo Place, occupancy improved by 7ppts from

1Q26, the largest increase on record, while occupancy across Taikoo Place rose by 1

…