Eco World Q3 earnings up 80% to Rm50.48mil

PETALING JAYA: Eco World Development Group Bhd’s net profit for its third quarter ended July 31 surged more than 80% to Rm50.48mil from Rm27.80mil in the previous corresponding period.

This is mainly due to a higher proportion of completed and near-completed units sold, as well as a higher percentage of completion attained by various ongoing projects during the period.

Eco World president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah said profit for the third quarter of 2019 was the highest the company had ever achieved.

“The disciplined approach we have taken over the years to build up the Eco World brand, coupled with strong on-ground execution and close customer engagement, has ensured that our future revenue pipeline is consistently maintained at a high level – this is paying off for the group today,” he said in a statement.

Eco World recorded Rm1.94bil in sales in the 10 months ended Aug 31, 2019, of which Rm1.71bil was recorded after the official launch of the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) on March 1, 2019.

“As at Aug 31, 2019, Eco World’s effective stake in the future revenue of properties sold by its subsidiaries and joint-ventures remained high at Rm5.86bil – this assures continued good earnings visibility going forward for the group.”

Meanwhile, the property developer’s third-quarter revenue rose to Rm521.37mil from Rm454.65mil a year earlier.

Eco World said the main projects that contributed to earnings in the third quarter were Eco Majestic, Eco Forest, Eco Sanctuary and Eco Sky in the Klang Valley, Eco Botanic, Eco Spring, Eco Summer, Eco Business Park I, Eco Business Park II, Eco Tropics and Eco Business Park III in Iskandar Malaysia and Eco Meadows and Eco Terraces in Penang.

For the nine-month period ended July 31, Eco World’s net profit improved to Rm121.97mil from Rm80.69mil in the previous corresponding period, while revenue stood at Rm1.56bil from Rm1.52bil a year earlier.

For the final quarter of its financial year, Eco World said it would begin unveiling new phase launches at its various projects, as it presses on to achieve the two-year Rm6bil sales target set for 2019 and 2020.

Separately, Eco World’s international arm, Eco World International Bhd (EWI), saw its third-quarter net profit jumping 350% to Rm57.94mil from Rm12.85mil in the previous corresponding period, mainly due to higher recognition of revenue and profit by its joint-venture projects in the United Kingdom.