KUALA LUMPUR: SP Setia Bhd has sped towards achieving its sales target of RM3.8bil following a strong sales performance of RM2.71bil in the first half of the year.
In the second quarter ended June 30, the property developer posted a net profit of RM74.81mil, compared to a net loss of RM134.34mil in the previous corresponding quarter.
Revenue for the quarter under review was RM1.08bil, more than three times the revenue of RM331.33mil recorded in the comparative quarter.
This brought the group's net profit in 1HFY21 to RM150.04mil compared to a net loss of RM110.25mil, while revenue rose to RM2.14mil, more than double RM1.03bil in the previous corresponding period.
According to SP Setia president and CEO Datuk Khor Chap Jen, the group remains optimistic yet cautious over the market outlook amid the strong pent-up demand from home buyers.
"We expect the economy in general and the property sector specifically to recover gradually in the coming quarters at the back of efficient rollout of the vaccination programme to achieve herd immunity as well as the imposition of various SOPs in our fight against COVID-19.
"Once these efforts are successful in curbing the pandemic, it is our hope that the economy will be reopened in stages, and its recovery process will be expedited,” he said in a statement released in conjunction with its earnings result.
According to SP Setia, local projects contributed to about RM2.07bil or 77% of total sales while the remainder was contributed by international projects, mainly Daintree Residence in Singapore.
In Malaysia, the sales were mainly derived from the Central region at RM1.64bil, followed by the contribution from the Southern region at RM296mil while another RM142mil was from other regions.
As at June 30, bookings received stood at RM954mil.
“The results achieved for the first half of the year were largely attributed to the strong sales performance for the first five months of the financial year buoyed by a generally upbeat local market sentiment early this year.
"However, the onset of the Full Movement Control Order (FMCO) lockdown in June 2021 had slowed down the conversion of bookings into confirmed sales," said Khor.
Completed inventories during the six months to June 30 stood at RM425mil, a 137% increase over RM179mil in the year-ago period.
Khor added that a total gross development value of RM687mil in landed properties comprising mostly double-storey terrace and/or semi-detached homes were launched during the period.
There were high take-up rates especially in established and matured townships, including Setia Alam and Bandar Kinrara where bookings of the said launches hovered above 90%.
For the second half of 2021, the group will be offering new launches worth RM2.47bil in various townships including Setia Alam, Setia Ecohill 2, Setia Eco Park, Setia Eco Glades, Setia Mayuri, Temasya Glenmarie, Bandar Kinrara, Setia Alam Impian and Kota Bayuemas in the Central region, Setia Fontaines in Penang, Taman Rinting, Taman Industri Jaya and Setia Tropika in the Southern region.