Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 30): Recurring mall income and its 'Upper East @ Tiger Lane' condominium development in Ipoh, Perak has doubled EcoFirst Consolidated Bhd's profit for its first quarter ended Aug 31, 2016 (1QFY16) to RM2.34 million, from RM716,000 previously.

In a Bursa Malaysia announcement today, the property developer and manager said its Upper East project is 50% completed with more than half of the 529 luxury units sold at the end of the quarter under review.

This saw the group’s revenue quadrupling to RM23.33 million, from 1QFY15's revenue of RM5.13 million.

In a separate statement, EcoFirst's group chief executive officer Datuk Tiong Kwing Hee said FY16 will see stronger contributions from the Upper East due to its rapid progress.

“With more than half of the 529 units sold, the development is now 50% completed and expected to be fully completed by end of year. This project will soon be our core contributor for FY16,” he added.

Meanwhile, rental income from its property investment division derived from its two malls — 1Segamat Mall in Segamat, Johor and the South City Plaza in Sri Kembangan, Selangor — will continue to provide a substantial source of recurring income for the group.

In its quarterly report to Bursa, EcoFirst said the group's proposed acquisition of 25.09 acres of freehold land in Ulu Kelang, Gombak, Selangor, has been approved by shareholders on Sept 3.

“Together with the acquisition of the adjoining land measuring 61.58 acres approved by shareholders at the extraordinary general meeting held on June 20, 2014, the group will have, once completed, a total of 86.67 acres of prime freehold land in the Klang Valley for future development, auguring well for the long term future of the group,” it noted.

Tiong said there is huge potential for the near 87 acres of land in "a location as strategic as Ulu Klang".

"Seeing the strong prospects, EcoFirst is generating a bigger plan for this project.

"EcoFirst is remodelling the company for success. We have completed several restructuring exercises and just cleaned up our balance sheet and eliminated the accumulated losses. EcoFirst has solidified our base and ready to achieve greater heights," he added.

At market close, EcoFirst shares closed flat at 28 sen, for a market capitalisation of RM204.44 million.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)

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