Mah Sing Q1 earnings up on sales volume

KUALA LUMPUR: Mah Sing Group Bhd’s earnings increased by 45.5% to RM59.9mil in the first quarter ended March 31 from RM41.17mil a year ago due to strong sales volume.

Its revenue rose 46.8% to RM457.77mil from RM311.75mil. Earnings per share were 7.20 sen from 4.95 sen.

The group has achieved property sales of slightly above RM1bil as of May 15 or 40% of its 2012 full year sales target of RM2.5bil.

The group also has strong earnings visibility, with unbilled sales of about RM2.48bil as of March 31 or 1.8 times the revenue recognised from the property development division in 2011.

Balance sheets remained strong, with high cash pile at RM581.1mil and net gearing at 0.33 as of March 31.

Some of the property development projects that contributed to revenue and profit during the year included township developments in the Klang Valley like Garden Residence, Clover @ Garden Residence, and Garden Plaza in Cyberjaya, Kinrara Residence in Puchong and Aman Perdana in Meru - Shah Alam.

The positive growth was also contributed by its niche developments such as Perdana Residence 2 in Selayang, One Legenda, Hijauan Residence, and Bayu Sekamat in Cheras, and small units of serviced residences in M-City and M-Suites in Jalan Ampang, as well as Icon Residence in Mont’ Kiara.

Group managing director cum group chief executive Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum said the group had planned its product mix in line with the market demand, as evidenced by the strong take upin its township development of Kinrara Residence which consisted of semi-detached homes and bungalows.

“This shows that there is continued demand for landed residential properties in good location, especially in gated and guarded schemes coupled with the established infrastructure and amenities.

“The same can be said of Clover@Garden Residence which comprises mostly semi-detached homes, with limited units of superlinks and bungalows. Buyers will be able to get a better picture of the two storey and three storey semi-detached homes when our show units are completed in June,” he said in statement yesterday.

By The Star