Metlifecare 1H profit jumps 31% as housing boom bolsters property values, fattens sales margins

Metlifecare 1H profit jumps 31% as housing boom bolsters property values, fattens sales margins
Paul McBeth
By Paul McBeth Feb. 27 (BusinessDesk) - Metlifecare's first-half profit jumped by almost a third as the country's housing boom bolstered the value of the retirement village operator's property portfolio and fattened its margins for unit sales.  Net profit rose to $164.1 million, or 77.1 cents per share, in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $125.7 million, or 59.2 cents, a year earlier, the Auckland-based company said in a statement. That included a $170.7 million gain on the value of its investment portfolio to $2.74 billion. Those rapid...