SP Setia Eyes Higher Contribution From Overseas Projects

SHAH ALAM (Selangor, Malaysia) May 18 (Bernama) -- Property developer, SP Setia Bhd aims to increase contribution from overseas projects to 20 per cent of revenue this year from eight per cent last year. President, CJ Khor said the revenue would be propelled mainly by its Australian project, namely a mixed development with a gross development value (GDV) of A$478 million at Exhibition Street in Melbourne's central business district, and the A$38 million residential project in Prahran, Melbourne. “The launches for the two sites are expected to commence in the second half of this year, hopefully by July,” Khor told reporters after SP Setia's annual general meeting (AGM), here Thursday. On the company's plan to acquire I&P Group Sdn Bhd, he said the company is currently in the process of undertaking due diligence, and this was anticipated to be completed within a month. “We are expected to seal the acquisition before year-end,” said Khor, who is also the company's Chief Executive Officer. SP Setia had entered into a non-binding memorandum of intent with Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Amanahraya Trustees Bhd to commence negotiations on the proposed acquisition of 100 per cent of I&P Group on April 14, 2017. The exercise, estimated to be within the range of RM3.5 billion to RM3.75 billion, would increase its total landbank to close to 4,046.86 hectares (ha), making it the largest property player in Malaysia. Meanwhile on sales, S P Setia achieved RM3.82 billion (US$881.2 million) sales in the financial year ending Dec 31, 2016 (FY16). Some 92 per cent of the overall sales was derived from the local market, where central region contributed the most with RM2.64 billion and the rest of the regions contributed RM859.7 million. The remaining eight per cent was from the international projects, Khor said. The company has reiterated its RM4 billion sales target for FY17 and it is confident of achieving it. Khor said in the first four months of this year, the company recorded RM801 million in sales compared to RM696 million in the same period last year. "It gives us a reason to be optimistic," he said. SP Setia has planned a diversified range of new launches worth RM5.4 billion in strategic locations to cater to the various demands and needs of property buyers. Among the upcoming launches are at Setia Alam with a GDV of RM292 million; Setia EcoHill with GDV of RM204 million; Setia EcoHill 2 (RM294 million); Setia Eco Park (RM147 million); Setia Eco Glades (RM67 million); Setia Eco Templer (RM73 million); Setia Sky Seputeh (Tower B) (RM478 million) and KL Eco City (RM615 million). "The group’s prospects going forward remain positive with total unbilled sales of RM7.84 billion, anchored by 30 ongoing projects and strong landbank of 2,080.48ha with a total GDV of RM75.72 billion as at March 31, 2017," added Khor. SP Setia achieved a record pre-tax profit of RM1.18 billion for the 12-month ending Dec 31, 2016, on the back of a revenue of RM4.95 billion. There were no comparison figures as it had changed its financial year to Dec 31 from Oct 31. At the AGM, the company has obtained its shareholders' approval for a final tier dividend of 16 sen, bringing total dividend paid for the year to 20 sen. (US$1 = RM4.32) -- BERNAMA