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ublicly listed developer Bakrieland Development announced on Wednesday that its first-half net income had sunk by more than 80 percent amid a slowdown in the country'€™s property business.

Bakrieland, owned by politically wired conglomerate Aburizal Bakrie, recorded an 83.59 percent slump in net profit to Rp 114.88 billion (US$9.83 million) in the first six months of this year as revenue dropped.

Revenue was nearly slashed by half in the January-June period to Rp 1.13 trillion, in line with other publicly listed developers that saw unsatisfactory financial performances due to the central bank'€™s latest mortgage regulation and as buyers remain in wait-and-see mode in a year where both a legislative and presidential election took place.

The central bank'€™s loan-to-value (LTV) regulation requires first-time buyers to pay a minimum down payment of 30 percent of the value of a house. The minimum down payment is higher for additional houses, and property firms argue that the regulation has frightened their customers.

'€œBakrieland'€™s recurring income is relatively small to overhaul impacts from a slowdown in the property sector. The company also experienced a lack of progress in expansion and land acquisition efforts, opting to sell its assets instead,'€ Asjaya Indosurya analyst William Surya Wijaya said.

Sales of land and residential units were the biggest contributors for Bakrieland, but they slumped by 57.78 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rp 801.51 billion in January-June.

Sales of land, housing and apartments dominated Bakrieland'€™s revenues in the first half, contributing about 71 percent, according to the company'€™s financial report.

Income from hotels made the second-largest contribution with 14 percent, followed by rentals and office management with 12 percent.

Bakrieland'€™s first-half earnings included proceeds that its unit raised from the Rp 297 billion sale of the 14,850 square-meter retail space at Epicentrum Walk in South Jakarta to Sinar Mas Teladan, which operates the country'€™s largest developer, Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD).

Bakrieland will hold expansion this year and instead focus on developing its theme park in Sentul, Bogor.

Among the few expansions was its plan to take over shares of Mutiara Masyhur Sejahtera (MMS), formerly owned by PT Minarak Labuan Indonesia, in a Rp 3.1 trillion deal.

Bakrieland signed an agreement on June 30 to acquire 750,000 MMS shares, which brings the company'€™s ownership in the developer to 99.21 percent.

MMS operates 500 hectares in Sidoarjo, East Java, which Bakrieland says will be developed into a superblock.

Minarak Labuan was closely associated to Bakrie'€™s Lapindo Brantas, which was considered responsible for the high-profile Sidoarjo mud disaster.

As of December, Bakrieland had Rp 140.45 billion in cash and cash equivalents and Rp 1.08 trillion in inventory. The company'€™s liabilities stood at Rp 5.13 trillion and its total assets amounted to Rp 12.3 trillion.