KUALA LUMPUR: UOA Development Bhd will launch property projects worth RM1.5 billion in the second half  year (2H) to meet its RM3.5 billion annual target in gross development value (GDV) this year.

The property player has so far launched RM2 billion worth of projects.

Up to end-March, the company had tallied RM928 million worth of property sales while its unbilled sales stood at RM1.1 billion.

UOA general manager Eugene Lee said after the company AGM yesterday projects to be rolled out for the rest of the year would include apartments at South View Residence, a third block at its Desa Green project in Taman Desa and a second block of its Scenaria condominium.

Situated at Bangsar South, UOA’s South View Residence is slated to be launched by 3Q this year, said Lee.

“The current focus in Bangsar South is Camellia Serviced Suites slated to be completed by the year-end,” he added.

Lee said the Vertical Office Suites located at the same area was almost fully sold.

“We are now looking at previews for the second phase (of the Vertical Office Suites).”

Over the next seven to eight years, the property developer wants to gradually release its properties so as not to flood the market, said Lee.

As for its total land bank, UOA owns 110 acres in the Klang Valley with a GDV of RM15 billion.

On the possibility of expansion to other states, Lee said: “Not in the short term, we are still focusing on Klang Valley.”

He said it would be a distraction now if the company were to expand to other states.

“We had opportunities to review those places a couple of years ago. However, the board of directors was concerned about human resources as we do our construction in-house.”

At this juncture, UOA is looking at land closer to the city to add on to its existing portfolio. “For the past six months, the company has bought land in Segambut, Kepong and Sentul,” said Lee.

Boosted by office building sales and some inventory from Binjai 8 and Horizon, UOA registered RM119.14 million of net profit in its first quarter ended March 31 — almost triple from a year earlier.

“It was abnormally high,” said Lee. “We are expecting better results this year compared with last year and we are quite confident of achieving that.”


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 29, 2013.

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