Johor sales may exceed RM2b

NUSAJAYA: UEM Sunrise Bhd anticipates sales revenue from Johor to possibly surpass RM2 billion this year. Executive director Datuk Mohd Izzaddin Idris said the group estimated its projects there to contribute between 60% and 65% of its total sales for this year.

Sales revenue is expected to be between RM1.92 billion and RM2.08 billion, compared with RM1.7 billion last year, he added.

Mohd Izzaddin was speaking at the pre-launch ceremony of UEM Sunrise’s affordable housing project over the weekend. The property development group raked in some RM2.7 billion in sales last year, 63% of which came from its projects in Johor.

UEM Sunrise has set a growth target of 25% for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2014, while profit after tax and minority interest (Patmi) is expected to increase 10%. The developer has planned property launches with a total gross development value of about RM3.8 billion.

On the group’s affordable housing project, Mohd Izzaddin said UEM Sunrise is committed to building 10,000 units or more of affordable housing in Gerbang Nusajaya, which will be launched in phases from this year onwards. “The plan is to build at least 10,000 units. It could be more because there is demand for it,” he added.

The 10,000 units of affordable housing is under the mandate of the state government, which is committed to building 28,000 units of affordable housing in Johor over the next five years.

The construction of the 1,380 units, which is phase 1A, will be a high-rise development in Gerbang Nusajaya. Meanwhile, the pre-launch ceremony was for 351 units of affordable Nusa Bayu properties, comprising 321 terraced homes and 30 shoplots.

The terraced homes are priced between RM94.10 per sq ft (psf) to RM150 psf, while the shoplots are priced at RM200,000 per unit. The properties are slated to be completed by 2016.

To date, the group has delivered 3,535 units of affordable homes in Taman Nusantara in collaboration with private developer Denia Development Sdn Bhd.

On the recent demise of its ex-managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim, Mohd Izzaddin said, “We are very thankful of his leadership and support that he gave us in the past ... He played an important role in realising this project.”

Wan Abdullah had been on medical leave since December 2013, leaving Mohd Izzaddin at the helm.

The property firm exceeded its net profit growth target of 20% in financial year 2013 ended Dec 31 with RM571.14 million, up 29% from RM448.36 million in FY12. Revenue increased 26% to RM2.43 billion from RM1.92 billion in FY12.

Despite the better than expected earnings growth, UEM Sunrise’s share price has been drifting lower since June last year amid the soft sentiment on property counters. The stock fell from its peak of RM3.60 to a low of RM2.03 in late January. It closed at RM2.20 last Friday.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 03, 2014.