KLCCP posts RM362.5m net profit in 4Q

KUALA LUMPUR: KLCC Property Holdings Bhd posted net profit of RM362.53 million in its fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009, up 37% from RM264.77 million a year ago, boosted by fair value adjustment of the investment properties.

KLCCP said on May 12 revenue was RM211.58 million compared with the RM211.04 million a year ago. Earnings per share was 38.81 sen versus 28.34 sen. It declared tax-exempt dividend of 5.5 sen per share.

For the full year, its net profit rose to RM535.65 million from RM441.57 million. Revenue was RM861.22 million versus RM843.04 million.

“The increase in revenue was mainly contributed by increased rental of office building in particular Dayabumi (higher occupancy and rental revision), increased rental of the retail mall (higher rental) and increase in revenue from the car park operations despite a reduction in revenue from hotel operations.

“Besides the higher revenue, the increase in profit before taxation was also contributed by higher interest income and lower finance cost borne during the year,” it said.

On the 4Q revenue, it said there was a decline by RM7.2 million over 3Q’s RM218.8 million whereas the profit before taxation of RM659.0 million increased by RM533.7 million as compared to the preceding quarter of RM125.3 million.

“The decrease in revenue was mainly attributable to the reduction in revenue from hotel operations which was partially offset against the higher revenue achieved from the retail mall (higher rental) and office building in particular Menara ExxonMobil (rental revision),” it added.

KLCCP said the higher pre-tax profit was mainly due to the surplus from fair value adjustment of the investment properties of RM508.4 million earned in the current quarter.

For the prospects, it expected the current adverse economic conditions affecting demand would continue to impact the group’s hotel and retail businesses for the coming financial year.

However, it expected to benefit from the continuing measures which have been implemented to improve efficiency and mitigate the impact of the prevailing economic circumstances.

By The EDGE Malaysia

Strategies to boost PKNS' performance

The Selangor State Development Corp (PKNS) has put in place key performance indicators (KPI) at all departments in a bid to increase revenue and net profit.

General manager Othman Omar said he has identified several strategies to drive growth at PKNS, Selangor's property arm.

Top of the list is to focus on open bidding for its projects.

Previously, it gave contracts based on negotiated tenders. This was not competitive as profit margins were below 20 per cent, mainly due to claims on additional costs, Othman said.

"Since February we have been practising open and selective tendering and awarding contracts to the lowest bidder, not compromising on quality," Othman said at a news conference in Petaling Jaya yesterday to highlight the KPIs and his first 100 days in office.

Othman said PKNS' austerity drive and recent cost-cutting programmes have reduced its operational spending by RM87 million in the last three months.

"We achieved that by not spending on infrastructure and scaling back on projects. We are targeting RM100 million by end-December," he said.

This year, PKNS aims to make RM1.06 billion in revenue, a record for the group. Last year, its revenue was RM825 million.

"Through our plans, we will make sure we get the margins we are supposed to get. The target is 30 per cent but at the end, it could be 40 per cent," Othman said.

PKNS has set up a division for business development to identify more than RM2 billion worth of projects over the next two years. The projects, comprising a mix of retail developments and townships, will be done jointly with land owners, private developers and state agencies.

"We are talking to a few parties and working out the conceptual designs for the best costs," Othman said.

PKNS' finance department has also been asked to raise RM1 billion by December 2010.

The cash will be used to buy land and assets to build up PKNS' portfolio.

By Business Times (by Sharen Kaur)