ECOWORLD NET PROFIT SLIPS TO RM41.17M
Developer hit by higher administrative, selling and marketing expenses
ECO World Development Group Bhd’s (EcoWorld) net profit for its second quarter ended April 30 this year fell 4.5 per cent to RM41.17 million, from RM43.13 million a year ago, due to higher administrative, selling and marketing expenses.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, EcoWorld said higher expenses included additional depreciation following the completion of the Sanctuary Mall.
It incurred higher expenses from the concurrent launch of the Home Ownership Programme with EcoWorld (HOPE) and Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) initiated by the government.
Second-quarter revenue fell 1.2 per cent to RM543.18 million, from RM549.71 million a year ago.
Revenue recorded from its joint venture developments — Eco Grandeur, Eco Horizon, Eco Ardence and Bukit Bintang City Centre — totalled RM317.2 million, of which EcoWorld’s effective share was RM166 million.
For the six-month period, the company’s profit rose 35.2 per cent to RM71.49 million from RM52.90 million while revenue fell 3.2 per cent to RM1.03 billion from RM1.07 billion previously.
EcoWorld president and chief
executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah said at a briefing yesterday that the group had achieved RM1.03 billion sales in the first seven months of its fiscal year after a slow start, with RM230 million sales recorded in the first four months.
The higher sales were buoyed by government incentives under the HOC and EcoWorld’s Help2Own and Stay2Own solutions in the HOPE campaign.
HOC accords stamp duty exemptions on the instruments of transfer and the loan agreement for purchases of between RM300,001 and RM1 million by first-time house buyers from January until this month.
Chang said his team was confident of better performance for the rest of the year.
“Buyers continue to be drawn to our commitment to value creation and customer service,” he said.
While the local property outlook continues to be challenging, there are a number of saleable unsold units being cleared from the system as a result of the HOC. This would enable the market to recalibrate to its natural level, said Chang.
He said the Life@EcoWorld concepts sought to merge digitally-enabled communities using Industry 4.0 solutions with Integrated Wellness and Care components to look after customers at every stage of their lives.
Beginning with Eco Sanctuary, these services are expected to be extended to EcoWorld’s other projects in the Klang Valley, Penang and Iskandar Malaysia in Johor.