KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 7): Guocoland (M) Bhd, Hong Leong Group’s property arm, saw its net profit for the third quarter ended March 31, 2015 (3QFY15) fall 25.97% to RM11.63 million, from RM15.71 million a year ago, due to lower contribution from commercial property development business and joint venture projects.

Earnings per share for the period under review came in at 1.736 sen, compared to 2.345 sen a year ago.    

Revenue meanwhile declined by 9.7% to RM52.75 million, from RM58.44 million previously.  

Nevertheless, the group said lower revenue contribution from its commercial development sub-segment was mitigated by higher contribution from the residential development sub-segment.

No dividend was declared for the quarter.

For the cumulative nine months (9MFY15), Guocoland's (fundamental: 1.3; valuation: 2.4) net profit fell 57.39% to RM17.43 million or 2.6 sen per share, from RM40.91 million or 6.11 sen per share.  

Nine months revenue retreated by 23.54% to RM136.55 million, versus RM178.59 million a year ago.   

Guocoland said it expects the property market outlook and sentiment to remain cautious, amid credit tightening rules and uncertain economic environment.  

"The performance of the group is therefore expected to be challenging for the current financial year," it added.

The stock closed unchanged at RM1.22 today, with 232,400 shares traded. It had a market capitalisation of RM854.56 million.
 
(Notes: 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.)