KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): Property developer Tropicana Corp Bhd more than doubled its net profit to RM32.52 million or 2.27 sen a share in the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 (1QFY17) from RM15.17 million or 1.05 sen a share a year ago, mainly contributed by its core property development operations.

Quarterly revenue jumped 33.1% to RM381.87 million in 1QFY17 from RM286.93 million in 1QFY16.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Tropicana said the strong quarterly performance reflects the strong sales achieved and the advanced progress of construction works with many of the group’s ongoing projects.

Going forward, Tropicana said while the short term prospects are expected to remain challenging, it believes that there will still be demand for properties in prime locations with accessibility to good amenities and attractive pricing.

In a separate statement today, Tropicana said it is confident to deliver earnings growth in the near future as the group’s unbilled sales remained healthy at RM2.3 billion as at March 31, 2017, and its developments in the central region continue to draw healthy interest.

It said its strategy in FY17 continues to be market driven and is focused on unlocking value of its 1,283 acres of its land bank in the Klang Valley, and the northern and southern regions with potential gross development value of more than RM50 billion.

"We believe that there will still be demand for properties in prime locations that have accessibility to good amenities with attractive pricing," it added.

Tropicana shares fell 0.5 sen or 0.52% to close at 96.5 sen today, bringing a market capitalisation of RM1.41 billion.