Tropicana nets RM87m from land disposal

KUALA LUMPUR: Tropicana Corp Bhd (TCB) anticipates a net gain of RM87 million from the disposal of its commercial land at the Tropicana Golf & Country Resort to Mayfair Ventures Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mulpha Land Bhd.

TCB said in a statement yesterday it is disposing of two adjacent parcels of leasehold land measuring approximately 6.41 acres (2.6ha) for RM116.1 million cash.

The sale is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, it said, adding that the land is currently zoned for commercial development.

Based on its share capital base of 949.4 million ordinary shares of RM1 each, this will translate into a 9.1 sen increment to TCB’s net earnings per share for the current financial year ending Dec 31 (FY13), it added.

In the same statement, group CEO Datuk Yau Kok Seng described the pricing, at approximately RM416 per sq ft, as fair value for the land parcels.

“This transaction is in line with TCB’s strategy to unlock the significant value of our group’s landbank.”

He added that the group is focusing on high GDV and scalable key development projects in Kuala Lumpur, Iskandar Malaysia in Johor and Penang with targeted new launches of RM3 billion in FY13 across all three locations.

Formerly known as Dijaya Corp Bhd, the company yesterday declared a first and final dividend of 6.4% or 6.4 sen per share for FY12, compared with 3 sen a year ago.

Meanwhile, founder Tan Sri Danny Tan saw his direct and indirect stake in TCB lowered by 2% following the sale of 18.98 million shares in an off-market trade to the Employees Provident Fund at RM1.78 per share.

Prior to this, Tan had sold 2.25 million shares on May 17.

Tan, which is also group executive vice-chairman, currently holds a direct and indirect equity stake of 59.93% or 569.9 million shares in TCB.

The company is also undertaking a private placement comprising 86.3 million shares or 10% of the issued and paid-up share capital of TCB, at RM1.78 each.

TCB’s share price has shot up since the beginning of May in anticipation of new institutional stakeholders, gaining as much 40% in value.

However, the counter dropped 3.55% or 7 sen yesterday to close at RM1.90 with 23.4 million shares changing hands.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 6, 2013.