KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 17): The lack of Elements@Ampang condominium’s sales contribution after its completion has contributed to Land & General Bhd’s (L&G) net profit for its third financial quarter to plunge 66.3% from a year-ago period.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, L&G (fundamental: 3; valuation: 3) said net profit for the three months ended Dec 31, 2014 (3QFY15) fell to RM8.43 million from RM24.99 million a year ago, due to lower contribution from its property division.

Revenue for 3QFY14 was RM45.52 million from RM141.21 million in 3QFY13. Nevertheless, its earnings per share (EPS) was higher at 6.96 sen a share compared with 4.04 sen a share a year ago.

“Following the completion of Elements@Ampang project in the previous quarter, Damansara Foresta project is the main contributor to the (property) division’s results in the current quarter,” said L&G.

For the nine months period (9MFY15), L&G’s net profit was 68% higher at RM98.33 million or 12.15 sen per share compared with RM58.52 million or 9.47 sen a share in 9MFY14. Revenue was up 10.2% to RM409 million from RM371.18 million a year ago.

On prospects, L&G expects a satisfactory result for the current financial year ending March 31, 2015 (FY15).

"Despite a slower economic growth and the softening of commodity prices, the residential property market is expected to sustain due to the growing working population and the increased in first-time home buyers," it said.

L&G shares closed unchanged at 52.5 sen today, bringing a market capitalisation of RM559.75 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.)