P Kasi ousted from MK Land board of directors
Co-founder of property firm fails to get enough votes in AGM
PETALING JAYA: Datuk Kasi K.L. Palaniappan, one of the co-founders of property developer MK Land Holdings Bhd, was ousted from the company after failing to garner sufficient votes from shareholders to remain as a director.
The 59-year-old architect, who owns a 16% stake in MK Land, had sought re-election to the board of directors at the company’s AGM yesterday.
It is believed that P Kasi, as he is known, had lost the support of major shareholder and co-founder Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar.
Mustapha has 47% control of the company.
The split between the two longtime business partners came after shares in MK Land plunged to their lowest level in almost a decade.
The stock last changed hands at 23.5 sen yesterday, before trading was suspended between 2.30pm and 3.30pm by the exchange to make way for the announcement.
Meanwhile, in a separate announcement, MK Land independent director Hong Hee Leong has also left the company. The 60-yearold accountant had decided not to seek re-election at yesterday’s AGM.
Hong had been a director of MK Land since August 1999.
MK Land, known for its flagship project Damansara Perdana, has been struggling in recent years to replicate its previous success. The company bought most of the land in Damansara Perdana and started developing it in 1996, just prior to the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis.
The company has slowly faded away from investors’ radar as the market’s attention shifted to more exciting developers.
Despite the recent challenges, MK Land has remained profitable. Last month, it posted a net profit of RM4.28mil on a revenue of RM42.67mil for the first quarter ended Sept 30.
For the financial year ended June 30, 2016 (FY16), it made a net profit of RM16.3mil, down from RM53.9mil in FY15.
The bulk of the revenue was generated by the property development segment, mainly from construction progress, the sale of ongoing projects and completed properties in Damansara Perdana, Damansara Damai and Meru projects.
The company has about 4,908 acres of undeveloped land bank in the Klang Valley, Perak and Kedah.
To shore up its financial position, the company sold nine parcels of leasehold land totalling 195.84 acres in Kamunting, Perak, for RM72mil in May, the proceeds of which were used for working capital and ongoing and future development project expenses.
Besides property development, MK Land also operates hotels and resorts and a water theme park as well as the provision of education services.