Growing Sunrise’s earnings

An artist impression of the oasis in the Quintet project.

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunrise Bhd is expected to launch at least four major property projects with gross development value (GDV) totalling RM2.7 billion next year and anticipates to register better results for FY2011 ending June 30, given its large unbilled sales of RM1.2 billion.

Its executive chairman Datuk Tong Kooi Ong said among those slated to be launched would be the ‘MK20’ mixed development project in mid-2011 with GDV of about RM1 billion, stressing that the project nestled in Mont’Kiara would be multi-phased, offering different kinds of products.

“MK20 will meet the demands of the market,” he told a press conference after the group’s AGM yesterday when asked to elaborate on the project.

Tong also said Sunrise would likely launch the Menara Solaris office buildings in the city centre early next year and that it was deliberating on whether the project with a GDV of RM480 million would be sold en-bloc or in the market.

“We are also very sensitive to market perception at the moment, especially for commercial properties after the recent 2011 budget,” said the executive chairman, while not ruling out that Menara Solaris could take off sooner.

Menara Solaris is a commercial development with 587,000 sq ft of net saleable area of strata office space and 20,000 sq ft of retail space. It is located off Jalan Sultan Ismail, behind the Renaissance hotel.


Tong says the success of Sunrise Bhd’s Canada project marks the start of the developer’s Stage 3 growth.

According to Tong, Sunrise was also hoping to launch its landed and gated residential development in Kajang before end-2011. The project, located near The Mines Resort, is situated on 58 acres of land and is expected to generate GDV of RM500 million.

On developments in Canada, Tong pointed out it was expected to launch the second phase of its ‘Quintet’ development in Richmond, which would contribute about 60% of the project’s total GDV of C$400 million (about RM1.2 billion).

He said the take-up rate for Quintet’s phase 1 was much faster than expected with nearly 300 units “literally all sold out” following its launch last month.

“We are basically rushing to launch the the second phase sometime in February or March 2011. The second phase is slightly bigger, closer to 450 units,” he said, adding that Sunrise currently had total unbilled sales of RM1.2 billion.

Based on the concept of an “urban oasis”, the majority of the units in Quintet are one and two-bedrooms with sizes ranging from 500 sq ft for a one-bedroom unit to over 1,500 sq ft for penthouses and townhouses.

Commenting on the outlook for the property market, Tong said he explained to shareholders there was no overbuilding per se in terms of the total number of units in Mont’Kiara, but acknowledged there could be some overbuilding in the type of units that cater more to the general segments of the population.

“There is an oversupply in certain types of condos, but there is no oversupply overall,” he said.

“Clearly, Malaysia is a growing population with a lot of young people who need homes. They move out from their parents’ homes when they get married. It is a question of affordability. It is the type of properties that the market demands,” he elaborated.

A property observer said that smaller-sized condominium units in general have fared well in the recent property upturn, due to affordability issues and rising demand from young families. The observer noted that prices of small-sized condominium units at Sunrise’s Solaris Dutamas have risen to around RM620 psf, compared to RM380-RM400 psf when they were first launched in 2006.

On its financial performance, Tong said the group was confident of registering sustainable revenue and profit for FY2011 and would “probably do better” than the results in FY2010. Sunrise posted a net profit of RM133.95 million on the back of revenue of RM590.74 million for FY2010.

“We have a basket of products and plans coming that will sustain us,” noted Tong.

He also said Sunrise could have strong returns riding on “Stage 3” of its growth development plans starting 2010, where it offered multiple-products and multiple-locations with a focus expanding beyond Mont’Kiara.

Sunrise’s share price yesterday added five sen to close at RM2.24 with 1.35 million shares traded. The counter has risen 8.74% year-to-date.

By The EDGE Malaysia (Posted on 29Oct2010)