PETALING JAYA: Guocoland (M) Bhd has returned to the black, posting a net profit of RM3.76mil in the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2021, driven by the better performance of the property development segment and lower losses from the hospitality division.

       In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the group said its revenue rose 15.6% to RM105.55mil in the quarter compared to RM91.32mil in the corresponding period a year ago due to higher contributions from the property development division as well as better showing by the hospitality division.

       “The property development division reported a better performance for the current quarter mainly due to the increase in the percentage of completion from one of its on-going project in Emerald 9 @ Cheras.

       “The performance of the hospitality division also improved with higher occupancy and average room rates due to the relaxation of the movement control order (MCO) imposed by the Malaysian government which allowed for interstate travelling,” it said.

       However, Guocoland said the group incurred higher selling and marketing expenses due to increased promotional activities following the relaxation of the MCO.

       It added that the administration expenses also rose compared to a year ago due to higher staff expenses.

       Moving forward, the group expects the property market to recover in the second half of the financial year ending June 30, 2022.

       “The pace of recovery is conditioned on the resiliency of the vaccinated against the emergence of new covid-19 variants and stability of the building material prices,” it said.

       Meanwhile, Guocoland noted it would continue to focus on monetising its inventories and progressing its development projects for timely completion.

       “New product launches will be phased according to prevailing market conditions. The group remains alert to opportunities to increase its landbank,” it said.