Business is good for Mah Sing Group Berhad (Mah Sing) as the company announced its half year financial results ended 30 June 2017. The Group posted a net profit of approximately RM180.8 million on the back of revenue of approximately RM1.5 billion for the six-months ended 30 June 2017.
On a quarterly basis, the Group recorded a net profit of approximately RM90.4 million and revenue of approximately RM727.1 million.
The projects which contributed to the Group’s results in Greater KL and Klang Valley included Southville City in KL South, Lakeville Residence in Jalan Kuching, D’sara Sentral in Sungai Buloh, M Residence and M Residence 2 in Rawang, M City in Jalan Ampang, Icon City in Petaling Jaya, Garden Residence, Clover@Garden Residence and Garden Plaza in Cyberjaya, Kinrara Residence in Puchong, Icon Residence in Mont’ Kiara and Star Avenue in Sungai Buloh.
Projects from other regions that also contributed to the Group’s results include Penang’s Southbay City, Legenda@Southbay and Ferringhi Residence, Johor’s The Meridin@Medini, Meridin East, Sierra Perdana, Mah Sing i-Parc@Tanjung Pelepas and Austin Perdana as well as Sutera Avenue in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Targets Achieved with RM819.3 million, H2 2017 Aims for More Properties Below RM500,000
The Group achieved property sales of approximately RM819.3 million for the six-months ended 30 June 2017 and looks forward to launching more properties below RM500,000 in H2 2017 to meet current market demand.
Upcoming launches in Greater Kuala Lumpur include M Vertica, Cheras’s residential suites with built ups from 850 sq ft indicatively priced from RM450,000, M Centura, Sentul’s residential suites with built ups from 650 sq ft indicatively priced from RM326,000, new development in Southville City@KL South’s service apartments with built ups from 888 sq ft indicatively priced from RM399,000 and M Aruna, new Rawang township’s 2-storey link homes with built ups from 1,680 sq ft indicatively priced from RM550,000.
There are also more upcoming property launches in Penang which include M Vista@Southbay’s residential suites with built ups from 536 sq ft indicatively priced from RM330,000 and a new industrial park in Bukit Mertajam, which will use the award-winning iParc concept to offer multi-functional industrial spaces and will comprise a mix of shop offices and light industrial factories.
Phase 2 of Fern in Meridin East, Johor comprising 2-storey link homes with built ups from 1,622 sq ft is also headed for a launch in Q4 2017. These planned launches in H2 2017 will be part of the projects that drive the sales target of a minimum RM1.8 billion for 2017.
Mah Sing’s Group Managing Director, Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong Hoy Kum said, “As we go through our transformation programme this year, our commitment to deliver better quality products and results for our customers, shareholders and people will continue to be our main focus. We want to stay healthy by adhering to prudent financial management to produce a healthy balance sheet.
“Mah Sing’s net cash position as of 30 June 2017 provides opportunities for us to pursue more land banks. We will stay hungry to look for more land acquisitions especially in Klang Valley and continue to stay focused in offering affordably priced properties to meet the current market demands.”
He further added, “We have recently opened our M Vertica sales gallery which is located next to the actual site in Cheras. Residents will reap the benefits of the well planned public transportation such as the Maluri Interchange and Taman Pertama MRT Station which is near to the development.”
More Business Incentive Grants for Buyers
Mah Sing recently extended its Business Incentive Grant programme for its commercial products. The programme will provide eligible applicants with business grants should they purchase one of the six participating projects which include Lifestyle Shops @ Southville City, Retail Shops @ D’sara Sentral, M Galleria Shops @ M Residence, 2-storey Shops @ Lakeville Residence, and Garden Boulevard Shops @ Garden Residence in the Klang Valley as well as The Meridin Walk Lifestyle Mall @ Medini in Iskandar Puteri Johor.
Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong shared, “Our aim is to enable buyers to own their own properties. This is why we constantly come up with effective campaigns for easy property ownership. The Business Incentive Grant programme is focused on supporting business owners during the initial phase of starting their business. We hope this will help them in growing their businesses which will in turn help in growing the economy of the nation.”
Eyeing More Land Banking Opportunities in Klang Valley
The Group’s net cash position as at 30 June 2017 provides opportunities to pursue more land banking particularly within the Klang Valley with a focus on products below RM500,000.
The Group’s growth initiative is always guided by the principle of balancing growth and optimising capital utilisation. Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Leong shared, “We are on the lookout for more strategic land banks, especially in Klang Valley. In 2017 alone, the Group acquired 4 news lands, 3 in Klang Valley and 1 in Bukit Mertajam, Penang which have a combined GDV of RM4.3 billion.“
He added, “With our healthy balance sheet, we are in prime position to acquire more lands which meet our evaluation. Our target is to increase our land banks in the Klang Valley to 75% from our current 67% in the next two years.
“According to NAPIC’s statistics, there is an insufficient supply of new houses compared to the increase in households. Between the year 2012 and 2014, annual completion of new houses was 85,000 units compared to an average of 118,000 new household formations. Our focus on developing affordable housing will be able to address this market need.”
The Group currently has a remaining of approximately 2,163 acres of undeveloped land with approximately Remaining Gross Development Value (RGDV) and unbilled sales of RM29.5 billion which can support the Group’s revenue and earnings growth for the next 8 years.
Attractive Dividend Payout Since 2006
The 6.5 sen dividend per ordinary share of RM0.50 each in respect of the financial year ended 31 December 2016 will be paid on 14 September 2017, translating to an attractive dividend yield of approximately 4.5%. This is consistent with the Group’s dividend payout policy of a minimum of 40% of net profit since 2006.
The Group will continue to work harder and focus on managing its cost while improving operational efficiencies to maintain a stable and reasonable return to shareholders by accelerating construction works of projects with good take-up rate to provide further impetus to the long-term sustainable growth of the Group.
Outlook for the Future
The residential segment, especially affordable mass market properties in strategic locations in Klang Valley have shown resilience to market challenges. The Group believes that the mid to long term prospects of the property market is still healthy and is in line with the improving Malaysian economy, strong demographics forces coupled with increased government spending on infrastructure, connectivity and initiatives to facilitate easy ownership for house buyers.
Moving forward, the Group will continue to look out for more strategic land banks especially in Klang Valley, joint ventures and investment opportunities. Addressing the market’s needs, the Group will continue to adopt the strategy of developing strategically located, accessible and well planned mass market housing projects with a focus on affordable prices below RM500,000.
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