UOA Development net profit goes up 211% to RM346mil

PETALING JAYA: UOA Development Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2016 rose by some 211% to RM345.98mil due to fair value gains recognised on investment properties.

Revenue for the quarter however almost halved to RM270.64mil from RM511.6mil.

The company said in a press release that revenue was attributed mainly to progressive recognition from the sales of on-going development projects namely Southbank Residence, South View Serviced Apartments, United Point Residence, The Vertical Business Suites and Desa Sentul.

“New property sales for the quarter came in about RM1.42bil with contributions from our ongoing projects. Unbilled sales stood at about RM1.46bil as at Dec 31, 2016,” it said.

On the year to date basis UOA’s net profit was at RM676.7mil, representing an increase of 62.3% compared with the preceding year’s corresponding period.

Its total revenue for the year was at RM996.2mil compared to RM1.64bil in the previous year.

“Total expenditure for the quarter under review of RM61mil comprises mainly marketing expenses of RM12.3mil and administrative and operating expenses of RM30.4mil,” it said.

The company said that its effective tax rate for the current quarter was higher than the statutory tax rate of 24% mainly due to difference between the income tax and real property gains tax rates applicable on fair value adjustments on investment properties.

The effective tax rate for the year to date approximated the statutory tax rate of 24%. The effective tax rate for the corresponding quarter and year to date was lower than the statutory tax rate of 25% mainly due to certain income not subjected to tax, it said.

Moving forward, UOA said that it will continue its focus on development in Greater Kuala Lumpur and continue to assess opportunities for land acquisitions that meet the criteria.