DBhd hopes to return to the black this year

Group banks on property, integrated facility management ops

Damansara Realty Bhd (DBhd) is hoping to turn in an operating profit this year.

This will be achieved on the back of a projected pick up in revenue from its property business and steady income from main integrated facility management business.

Group chief executive officer Brian Iskandar Zulkarim said the company is currently undertaking a strategic restructuring plan (SRP) to streamline its operations.

He said the SRP comprised three-phase transformation roadmap.

It includes the restructuring and integration of DBhd’s non-property operations to be the preferred integrated facility management (IFM) solutions provider, streamlining and acceleration of the group’s property portfolio, as well as improving corporate governance and elevating the group’s capital market options.

“We are confident that we will be able to return to the black by the end of this financial year (ending Dec 31, 2017),” he told a media briefing.

“In the absence of major write-offs and exceptional items, we expect to record an operating profit for FY17.”

In FY16, DBhd registered a net loss of RM27.12mil, which further widened from the previous year’s net loss of RM4.38mil. The net loss in FY16 included exceptional items amounting to RM25.26mil.

“Going forward, the IFM segment will remain as the largest contributor to DBhd’s revenue, providing sustainable and recurring income to the group.

“However, we expect revenue contribution from the property development segment to pick up next year, following the sluggish demand and strict loan requirement issue last year,” said Brian.

The IFM segment consists of car park management Metro Parking (M) Sdn Bhd, engineering facilities management services TMR Urusharta (M) Sdn Bhd and cleaning services HC Duraclean Sdn Bhd.

Brian noted that DBhd’s IFM segment has been receiving project offers, although the group would only take on jobs based on the capacity of the resources required.

To date, the group has secured an estimated RM250mil worth of new projects.

He added that Metro Parking, which has presence in the Philippines and Singapore, would continue to grow its share in these respective markets.

Hence, Metro Parking will not be venturing into any new markets in the near term and will instead focus on the domestic market.

Meanwhile, DBhd’s property division has launched two projects this year – Damansara Hills in Kuantan and Central Park in Johor.

The group is in the midst of planning developments for the commercial segment of Damansara Hills and Taman Damansara Aliff, Damansara Hills 2, as well as the commercial land adjacent to the Projek Perumahan Awam 1 (PPA1M) that it is currently undertaking.

Some of these projects are expected to be launched by the second quarter of 2018.

DBhd currently has a land bank of 550 acres spread across Kuantan and Johor, and looks to acquire land in other states or develop land that is not owned by it.

This land bank excludes the Central Park project, which is developed on a joint-venture basis with Hong Kong-listed Country Graden Holdings Co Ltd.