Stellar sales performance by S P Setia

PETALING JAYA: S P Setia Bhd has recorded a stellar sales performance of RM2.91 bil in the third quarter ended July 31, 2013, bringing total sales as at Aug 31, 2013 to RM6.27 bil.

The strong showing was underpinned by both its local and international projects.

“This has exceeded the group’s financial year ending October 2013’s (FY13) target of RM5.5bil,” the group said in a statement yesterday.

It said total international sales amounted to RM2.53bil, of which RM1.25bil was contributed by the group’s 40% share of sales from its Battersea Power Station joint-venture project in Central London.

Its other overseas projects include Fulton Lane in Melbourne, Australia, and Eco Sanctuary in Singapore, which recorded sales of RM409 mil and RM877mil, respectively.

Meanwhile, its Malaysian projects remained its main earnings contributor. As at Aug 31, 2013, the sales for the local market totalled RM3.74 bil, mainly contributed by its projects in the Klang Valley and Johor Baru.

“Despite the increasingly uncertain macroeconomic environment, we are targeting to convert the bookings received from the highly successful launch of Parque Melbourne, Australia, into sales before the end of this financial year,” group president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said in the statement.

On its projects in Malaysia, the group is preparing to launch terraced and cluster homes at Setia Eco Hill to capture the strong demand for affordable landed homes.

“Together with the sales already secured this year, these new launches would set up a very healthy pipeline for the group to carry forward into FY14 when market conditions are expected to be more challenging overall,” Liew said.

The group’s net profit for the third quarter increased 1.5% to RM101.88 mil from a year earlier due to higher profit recognition in Johor Baru, among others.

Its revenue climbed 16% to RM761.5 mil from RM654.2 mil in the same quarter previously from higher property development income.

For the nine-month cumulative period, net profit increased to RM290.6 mil from RM266.79 mil a year ago, while revenue increased to RM2.16 bil from RM1.76 bil.