Pulai Springs upbeat on record net profit

Pulai Springs Bhd expects to achieve a record net profit in the current financial year ending December 31 2010 and is even more positive about its outlook in 2011, its top official says.

Executive director Nick Mah Siew Chean, who emerged as the new major shareholder in the company three years ago, said things are looking brighter after a difficult run in 2008 and 2009.

Excluding an extraordinary gain from the sale of the Novotel in Kuala Lumpur, the hospitality-cum-property developer would have posted a net loss in the financial year ended December 31 2009.

"The years 2008 and 2009 were tough for us. We expect to return to the black this year. Operationally we are positive," Mah told Business Times in an interview.
In the first half ended June 30 2010, the resort operator posted a net profit of RM221,000 and revenue of RM25.15 million.

"We expect to achieve the best year in terms of bottom line this year, since the takeover from the previous owners in 2007," Mah said.

The expected better performance this year and next will be attributed by sales of the remaining 85 units of Cinta Ayu All Suites. A total of 300 units were built within Pulai Springs Resort.

The company has made some RM80 million from the sale of the units and expects the remaining units will be sold by end-2011 and fetch RM50 million in sales.

Pulai Springs also plans to launch some niche developments within the resort. It has 3.2ha of land available for development. It is now conducting a feasibility study to decide on the type of property units it should build. The units are likely to be launched at end-2011.

In 2007, Mah took over Pulai Springs from one of its founders, Datuk Chua Jui Leng, and emerged as a major shareholder.

Meanwhile, Mah dismissed talks in the market that the company was up for sale. "We are here for the long term," he said, adding that the units within the resort were the ones that are available for sale.

On foreign ventures, Mah said Pulai Springs will look for opportunities for both hotel operations and property development in China. These projects can be via acquisition of existing assets or be built from scratch.

"We understand the China market and are confident about China," he said, when asked if Pulai Springs is looking at other countries within the region.

This is because his family business already operates a 18-room hotel in Kunming, China.

Although a joint-venture agreement to jointly bid for a development project in Kunming was withdrawn in July following unsuccessful negotiations, Mah said the company will continue to pursue for other projects in the republic.

By Business Times

Suria Bistari expects RM80m GDV for Johor Baru project

SURIA Bistari Development Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IJM Land Bhd, expects to record RM80 million in gross development value (GDV) for its two blocks of SuriaMas suites project in Larkin, Johor Baru.

General manager (Southern region) Tham Huen Cheong on Saturday launched the 16-storey SuriaMas Block C comprising 152 units.

Tham said 70 per cent of the units, pegged from RM220,000 to RM320,000 had been snapped up even before the launch.

Tham said he expects the take-up rate to hit 90 per cent by year-end and the GDV for Block C is expected to be RM35 million.

The company is set to launch the 13-storey Block D which will have 119 units by the end of the year, with GDV targetted at RM40 million.

The launch of Block D will mark the last of its four blocks of SuriaMas suites in Larkin.

Block A and Block B, comprising a total of 600 units, were fully sold out since last year.

"Johor Baru's economy is always linked to Singapore. A majority of the flat dwellers are locals working in Singapore. Security is one of the reasons why buyers are snapping up the apartments," Tham said.

Meanwhile, the company is set to launch the third phase of its cluster homes in Taman Nusa Duta soon.

The third phase consists of 128 units of two-storey cluster homes priced from RM518 and above.

Since its inaugural launch in July, the company has chalked up over RM65 million in sales turnover for its homes in Taman Nusa Duta

"With the new coastal highway here coming up and the cheaper toll rates at the 2nd Link since August, we expect a surge in sales of properties in the area.

"Taman Nusa Duta and the neighbouring areas are also poised to be like a duplication of Taman Molek with the sprouting of banks and other amenities in the vicinity," he said.

By Business Times

Tempo Properties targets up to 25pc ROI

Tempo Properties Sdn Bhd, the developer of "The Atmosphere", a mixed commercial development project, is targeting a return on investment (ROI) of up to 25 per cent over the next three to four years.

Chief Executive Officer Khoo Boo Hian said the gross development value (GDV) of the second and third phases of the project in Sri Kembangan is estimated at about RM850 million.

The entire project will be complete by 2012. It is also the first commercial development project in the South Klang Valley to be awarded the coveted BCA Green Mark Certification (provisional).

The certification recognises the best practices in environmentally-friendly buildings design and performance.

The first phase of the project has been sold to Giant Hypermarket for RM24 million.

"We are now constructing the second phase and expect to launch its phase 2E in early 2011," he told a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said 90 per cent of phase two (excluding 2E), was sold out, while the construction of phase three would start next year.

"We are planning to build service apartments, a five-star hotel, retail and commercial centres under the third phase.

"Although 90 per cent of the development has been sold, we have decided to spend an additional RM2 million on green features, to be enjoyed by business owners," said Khoo.

He also disclosed that Tempo is eying properties in the Ampang and Mont Kiara areas for residential development.

He also stated that Tempo's future developments would continue to incorporate green elements into the design.

By Bernama

Mah a controlling shareholder of Pulai Springs since 2007

Not many are aware that Nick Mah Siew Chean has been the controlling shareholder of hospitality and property developer Pulai Springs Bhd since 2007.

Mah emerged as the shareholder of the company with a 32.9 per cent stake when he acquired 32 million shares then held by Datuk Chua Jui Leng.

Mah took over the reign of Pulai Springs at the age of 30. His move into the company came after the sale of Novotel Hydro Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, and the suitor then was Pulai Springs Bhd.

In an interview with Business Times, Mah said following the sale of Novotel, he was so taken aback by the beauty and splendour of Pulai Springs Resort that he negotiated and subsequently bought the company from Chua.
"We decided to take over the company as we were attracted by the potential it had," he said.

Mah's experience in the hospitality business can be traced back to his father, Mah King Hock, a lawyer by profession, who decided to venture into property development. From property development, there was a natural transition into the hotel business.

"My father went into this business 15 years ago when my sister started studying hospitality in Australia," the junior Mah said, adding that the hotel was somewhat a training ground for them.

His father bought an 86-room historic Hotel in Blue Mountains Australia called Hydro Majestic Blue Mountain. This became a venue where the Mah siblings started their journey in the hospitality industry.

The hotel has since been sold.

Today, the family owns two hotels in Australia - the Airport Sydney International Inn and Metro Hotel Sydney. Both hotels are ranked three-star and have about 120-odd rooms.

In 2005, the family bought the Novotel Hydro Majestic in Kuala Lumpur, which now belongs to The Nomad Group Bhd.

A year later, it bought the Ferringhi Beach Hotel in Penang and renamed it Hydro Hotel Penang.

The family also owns a 180-room hotel in Kunming called the Hydro Hotel Kunming, which is being managed by Mah's brother.

Together with the listed company's hotel business, the Mah family operates over 1,000 rooms.

Although Mah sits on the board of the family business, he is solely involved in the operation of the listed entity.

By Business Times

Glomac reports higher Q1 profit

Glomac Bhd reported a pre-tax profit of RM29.465 million for the first quarter ended July 31, 2010, up 79 per cent from RM16.474 million in the same period last year.

The profit was achieved over a 114 per cent rise in its revenue of RM126.31 million from RM58.986 million previously.

In a statement released today, its Group Executive Chairman, Tan Sri F.D. Mansor said the strong results reflected the smooth progress in its key property development projects, namely Glomac Tower, Glomac Damansara, Glomac Cyberjaya and Bandar Saujana Utama township.

He said construction work for the RM577 million Glomac Tower, a Grade ‘A’ commercial office tower in the vicinity of the Kuala Lumpur City Centre, was on track for completion next year.

Glomac Damansara, the group’s freehold mixed development project, has started well with its initial launch of shop offices fully taken up and the successful sale of a 25-storey office tower to Lembaga Tabung Haji for RM171 million.

New launches from Glomac Damansara this year include two blocks of serviced apartments and a retail mall with an estimated gross development value of RM450 million.

The statement said Glomac also recently purchased 2.8 hectares of freehold land adjacent to Glomac Cyberjaya for RM27.4 million.

"Prospects for the group remain robust. We expect earnings growth to be sustained in this financial year, underpinned by our strong unbilled sales of RM585 million (as at 31 July 2010), which remains at a historical high," Mansor added.

By Bernama