Bina Darulaman to capitalise on undeveloped landbank worth RM344.4m

KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): Bina Darulaman Bhd (BDB) is confident of overcoming the current challenging business environment by capitalising on undeveloped landbank, worth RM344.4 million, to sustain future developments.

The Kedah-based developer said in a statement that its primary focus now is to strategise for long-term growth and sustainability.

“The property market remains challenging, and the bleak market sentiment is anticipated to continue into 2018,” chairman Datuk Paduka Rasli Basir was quoted telling shareholders at BDB’s annual general meeting yesterday.

“This warrants the division to remain agile in its strategies and action plans,” said Rasli. “The division will be focusing on clearing its inventory of available units and introducing new and innovative products that match the market’s requirements.”

He added that about 75% of BDB’s product launches would be affordable housing priced at RM400,000 and below.

“As part of the strategy for long-term sustainability, [wholly-owned subsidiary] BDB Land Sdn Bhd will continue to offer quality living in its integrated townships in addition to commercial developments to enhance the lifestyle of the communities in these townships,” said Rasli.

BDB noted that the lower recognition of ongoing projects and continued stringent housing loan application rulings contributed to the 62% drop in revenue in the property development segment for the year ended Dec 31, 2017 (FY17) compared with FY16.

This, then, resulted in booking cancellations and many customers having to make compromises by switching from earlier preferred products priced at more than RM400,000 to more affordably priced products to facilitate successful funding application.

The group said that while several projects planned for launch in 2017 have been held back due to weak market sentiment, BDB Land had nevertheless continued to launch properties in Bandar Darulaman, Darulaman Perdana, and Darulaman Utama.

Another subsidiary, Kedah Holdings Sdn Bhd, meanwhile rolled out its maiden pocket development outside Kedah in Kuala Kangsar, Perak.

For FY17, BDB reported a net loss of RM7.81 million, versus a net profit of RM34 million in FY16. Revenue fell 29.41% to RM251.7 million from RM356.6 million.

The group said its debt-to-equity ratio decreased to 0.31 as of Dec 31, 2017, from 0.66 in 2016.

BDB’s share price closed unchanged at 45 sen yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM136.74 million. Over the past 12 months, the stock has fallen by 37.93%.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 20, 2018.

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