ECOWORLD TARGETS RM12B SALES

Foray into build-to-rent segment in UK bearing fruit, says EWI president

ECOWORLD Group aims to achieve RM12 billion combined sales over two financial years ending October 31 next year and 2020, mainly driven by the expansion of the group’s build-to-rent (BtR) footprint in London.

Eco World International Bhd (EWI) president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Teow Leong Seng said the group’s strategic decision to enter United Kingdom’s resilient mid-mainstream market with its fast-growing BtR sub-sector had proven to be correct.

EWI, via its 70 per cent-owned joint venture Eco World London Holdings Ltd, had in August agreed terms with real estate investment manager Invesco Real Estate and its investors to forward fund the development of more than 1,000 BtR homes in Kew and Barking, valued at £400 million (RM2.1 billion).

“It was especially notable that we achieved the deal less than six months after we completed the 70 per cent acquisition of the Wilmort Dixon residential development business,” said Teow at EcoWorld Group’s financial year 2018 performance briefing, here, yesterday.

Eco World Development Group Bhd chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the group was optimistic on its prospects in Malaysia.

He said the company was launching the Home Ownership Programme with Ecoworld (Hope) next month to encourage house ownership.

Liew, who is also EcoWorld Malaysia president and CEO, said the programme would involve more than 20 of the company’s existing projects in Malaysia, where it planned to focus on home occupiers rather than residential investors.

“The programme will incorporate two innovative home ownership solutions to help customers own their dream home.”

Liew said prospects of the group were undergirded by the record high levels of locked-in progress billings of RM6.43 billion and RM6.61 billion, respectively, as at October 31 this year, which provided clear earnings visibility for next year and 2020.

“The greatest test for the management is the ability to roll with punches and consistently outperform the market, especially during bad times.

“I am confident that 2019 will be another good year for EcoWorld as we forge ahead to realise our vision of ‘Creating Tomorrow and Beyond’,” he said.

Meanwhile, EcoWorld’s net profit for the full-year 2018 dropped 21 per cent to RM165.59 million from RM209.65 million, while revenue eased 26 per cent to RM2.17 billion from RM2.94 billion.