KUALA LUMPUR: Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) has exceeded its sales target of RM2 billion for the current financial year ending Oct 31 (FY14), generating RM2.015 billion as of July 31, 2014.

Its projects namely EcoSky, EcoMajestic, EcoBotanic, EcoSpring and Eco Business Park I contributed to the sales performance.

“The take-up rates on the projects launched by Eco World Development Sdn Bhd (EW Sdn Bhd) were highly encouraging and they are in the process of converting these into sales,” EcoWorld president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah said in a statement yesterday.

“As soon as we complete the acquisition of the development rights, the benefits of all the sales secured by EW Sdn Bhd will transfer to EcoWorld,” Chang said.

In April this year, EcoWorld had announced a major corporate exercise which included the acquisition of the development rights to eight projects owned by EW Sdn Bhd.

Chang also said it will be launching several projects towards the end of the year. Among these are the 743-acre (301ha) EcoTropics residential township and the 248-acre Eco Business Park III in Pasir Gudang, Johor which are part of the revised master plan of the group’s ongoing Kota Masai project in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.

“This will enable the group to capture the increasingly strong spillover commercial and industrial demand in south-east Johor,” he said.

EcoWorld is also expected to launch its first project on Penang island called EcoTerraces within the next six months. Spanning 12.8 acres, the residential project in Paya Terubong will be the group’s flagship project in Penang.

“With another five projects being actively planned for launch within the next one to two years in the Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia and Penang, the board of directors is confident that the group is in a very good position to achieve rapid and sustainable growth. This augurs well for the group’s prospects and financial performance in the years ahead,” said Chang.

EcoWorld’s total land bank is slated to increase to 4,926 acres with a total gross development value of RM47 billion upon the completion of its recent land acquisitions, from 991 acres currently.

Meanwhile, EcoWorld posted a lower net profit and revenue of RM1.68 million and RM27.25 million, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2014 compared with RM10.94 million and RM43.97 million, respectively, a year ago.

For the nine months period ended June 30 (9MFY14), the group also recorded a lower net profit and revenue of RM5.04 million and RM76.73 million, respectively, due to the completion of the Saujana Glenmarie project in the first quarter of FY14, as well as the absence of any sizeable launches of new parcels at the Kota Masai project.

For 9MFY13, it posted a net profit of RM24.24 million on revenue of RM112.34 million.

In December last year, EcoWorld had changed its financial year end. Its financial statement for FY14 will be for a period of 13 months made up from Oct 1, 2013 to Oct 31, 2014.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on August 22, 2014.

 

 

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