Nusajaya projects boost UEM Sunrise revenue

KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Sunrise Bhd, a subsidiary of UEM Group Bhd, announced that revenue from its property development segment has leapt 41% to RM373 million for the first quarter ended March 31 2014 (1QFY14), from RM268 million, with 64% of its projects in Nusajaya contributing to the segment.

The property group posted a net profit of RM61.52 million in 1QFY14 compared with RM211.08 million in the previous corresponding quarter. The higher profit in the previous quarter was mainly due to a land sale in Puteri Harbour to Liberty Bridge Sdn Bhd for RM400 million.

The group’s quarterly revenue shrunk 42% to RM401.55 million from RM697.74 million previously.

The group did not declare any dividend for 1QFY14, while the first and final single-tier dividend of four sen per share for FY13 will be paid on June 20.

UEM Sunrise said despite facing a challenging property market amidst the cooling measures introduced by the government last year, it managed to record RM123 million in total sales while unrecognised revenue stood at RM3.18 billion as at March 31 this year.

“Although the cooling measures substantially dampened demand in 1QFY14, we do not expect this to have an immediate impact on our financial performance for FY14 as the unrecognised revenue of RM3.18 billion as at March 31, 2014 from our ongoing projects will continue to flow into our books as construction progresses.

“Furthermore, we believe that the current negative sentiment in the market is temporary and demand will pick up again in the second half of 2014,” said UEM Sunrise executive director Datuk Izzaddin Idris (pic) in a statement, adding that he remains confident of the company’s prospects going forward as it is backed by ongoing landed developments and high-rise projects.

Some of its ongoing landed development projects include East Ledang, Nusa Bayu, Nusa Idaman and Symphony Hills, while its high-rise projects include Arcoris, Teega, Quintet, Imperi and Summer Suites.

UEM Sunrise said it launched 351 units of mid-market residential properties in Nusa Bayu in March, adding that  later in the year, it will be launching several landed residential developments including D’Estuary in Nusajaya, Sinaran Hills in Kajang and Serene Heights in Bangi, which it expects to be well received by the market.

Meanwhile, UEM Sunrise noted that its land transactions with KLK Land Sdn Bhd and Fastrack Autosports Pte Ltd are also expected to be completed this year.

To recap, UEM Sunrise entered into agreements with KLK Land in February to jointly develop 2,500 acres (1,011.7ha) of land in Kulai Jaya and another 500 acres in Johor Baru for mixed residential, commercial and industrial projects.

The group also signed a joint-venture agreement with Fastrack Autosports to jointly develop a 270-acre tract in Motorsports City in Nusajaya, Johor.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 27, 2014.