Press Release – SUNWAY GROUP REGISTERS 33.2% JUMP IN PROFITS
- Pre-tax profit increases 33.2% to RM271.4 million
- Stronger performance across most segments year on year and higher fair value gains from Sunway REIT
- Strong construction outstanding order book of RM4.3 billion and property unbilled sales of RM1.2 billion
Sunway City, 29 August 2017 – Malaysia’s sustainability-focused conglomerate, Sunway Berhad, recorded a second quarter ended 30 June 2017 pre-tax profit of RM271.4 million and a net profit of RM233.3 million, a jump of 33.2% and 29.7% respectively from the same quarter last year due to better performance from most business segments. Profits were also boosted by the share of higher fair value gains from the annual revaluation exercise done on Sunway REIT properties of RM56.8 million in the current quarter, compared to RM23.7 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year.
Commenting on the overall performance of the Group, Chief Financial Officer of Sunway Berhad, Chong Chang Choong, said, “Given the commendable operational performance across most business segments, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, we are confident that we will continue to deliver a satisfactory performance for the rest of 2017 underpinned by the unbilled property sales of RM1.2 billion and outstanding construction order book of RM4.3 billion as at 30 June 2017.”
The Board is pleased to declare an interim dividend of 7 sen per share which is higher than the interim dividend of 5 sen declared last year. To recap, on 14 June 2017, Sunway proposed to undertake a bonus issue of shares on the basis of four (4) bonus shares for every three (3) existing Sunway shares held and a bonus issue of free warrants on the basis of three (3) warrants for every ten (10) existing Sunway shares held. In the event the entitlement date for the proposed bonus issue of shares and warrants is prior to the entitlement date for the first interim cash dividend, the aforesaid dividend of 7 sen per share will be adjusted accordingly to 3 sen per share to take into consideration of the enlarged number of shares of the Company following the proposed bonus issue of shares.
STEADY INCOME FROM OTHER BUSINESS SEGMENTS DRIVE EARNINGS
For the quarter, the property development segment recorded a higher pre-tax profit of RM75.2 million, up 24.1% from RM60.6 million a year ago due to higher profit recognition from both the local and overseas projects. Revenue for the quarter registered lower at RM271.1 million from RM315.1 million due to lower sales and progress billings from local development projects.
The Group’s strong balance sheet and the current soft property market have enabled Sunway to acquire a total of 5 strategically-located land banks in 2017 with a total GDV of approximately RM5.5 billion. All land banks will be transit-oriented developments as they are in close proximity to MRT, LRT, BRT and/or monorail stations. The Group’s total land bank currently stands at 3,330 acres, with a total of GDV of approximately RM54.0 billion.
The property investment segment registered a higher pre-tax profit of RM84.4 million, a 104.5% increase from RM41.3 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. The higher pre-tax profit was boosted by the share of higher fair value gains from revaluation of Sunway REIT properties. Revenue is recorded at RM207.4 million, an increase of 29.5% due to additional contribution from the new Sunway Velocity Mall, which was opened in December 2016, higher visitorship to the Group’s theme parks, and higher revenue from Sunway Pyramid Hotel which was re-opened progressively in 2017 following a refurbishment exercise in 2016.
The construction segment recorded a higher pre-tax profit of RM42.3 million in the current quarter, an increase of 22.8% from RM34.5 million last year, with revenue up 24.7% to RM310.9 million from RM249.3 million due to stronger progress billings and lower intra-group eliminations.
In June 2017, Sunway was reclassified from the Properties sector to the Trading/Services sector on the Main Market of Bursa Securities to better reflect the Group’s long-term strategic ambition to grow its diverse businesses to become market leaders in their respective sectors. The Group’s strength as a conglomerate with diverse yet complementary businesses will help the Group to sustain its competitive edge.
Sunway Berhad was recently acknowledged by The Edge-Billion Ringgit Club, for delivering the ‘Highest Returns To Shareholders Over Three Years’ and one of the ‘Highest Return On Equity Over Three Years’ under corporations with interests in the property segment with market capitalisation of RM3 billion and above. Its flagship township, Sunway City has also been recently selected as a Top Smart City Initiative in Asia Pacific under the Smart Building category for its achievement as an Integrated Smart and Low-Carbon Township, amongst the 130 high-quality smart city initiatives submitted for this award by local governments, vendors and the public across Asia-Pacific ex-Japan.
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