BY INTAN FARHANA ZAINUL
PETALING JAYA: Mah Sing Group Bhd, which reported a net profit of RM90.42mil in the first quarter ended March 31, says it plans to buy more land in the Klang Valley area.
The property developer is targeting to increase its land bank’s gross development value (GDV) in the Klang Valley area to 75% within the next three years, up from 65% currently.
“We are also looking out for more land bank. Of course, any new land acquisition will need to be strategic and we will adhere to our prudent financial policy of maintaining a healthy net gearing ratio,” said group managing director Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum in a statement yesterday.
Mah Sing recently acquired two parcels of prime freehold land located in Sentul and Titiwangsa. It said that the 8.5-acre parcel of land in Sentul and 3.56-acre parcel of land fronting Titiwangsa Lake Gardens are expected to yield a combined potential GDV of approximately RM1.95bil.
Mah Sing’s total land bank stands at 2,255 acres, with a total remaining GDV and unbilled sales of RM31.5bil.
For the first quarter, Mah Sing’s net profit of RM90.42mil came on the back of a revenue of RM723.54mil.
It said its revenue from property development was about RM633mil and operating profit was about RM113.7mil in the first quarter.
As at March 31, the group’s cash and bank balances amounted to RM837.6mil. Mah Sing also recorded a low net gearing of 0.02 times, which is well below its internal target of 0.5 times.
In the first three months of 2017, Mah Sing said it had achieved property sales of about RM410.3mil, driven by product offerings that were in line with market demand, such as beginner homes for the mass market and also upgrader homes in selected locations.
About 70% of the sales achieved was from projects in Greater KL.
Meanwhile, Mah Sing reckons that the property market is undergoing consolidation, with healthy mid to long-term prospects due to strong fundamentals such as a young population, stable employment and the continued development of public transport infrastructure.
