KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): MCT Bhd saw its net profit surge almost sixfold to RM30.78 million in its third financial quarter ended March 31, 2018 (3QFY18) from RM5.21 million a year ago, on higher savings from its Skypark and Lakefront Villa developments in Cyberjaya, Selangor.

This resulted in higher earnings per share of 2.11 sen in 3QFY18 compared with 0.39 sen in 3QFY17. Quarterly revenue, however, fell 5.8% to RM126.31 million from RM134.09 million in 3QFY17.

"Inventories have been mostly used (up), with a few remaining inventories from last year's corresponding quarter enabling lower take-up rates for Lakefront," MCT said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

On top of that, there had been no launches in the current quarter, the property developer said.

For the cumulative nine-month period (9MFY18), net profit was up 4.5% to RM47.62 million from RM45.56 million a year ago, mostly due to a one-off gain which offset lower completion and take-up rates as the group cleared its inventories.

"Expenses for the year was RM79.6 million, which is 11% lower than the previous corresponding period," MCT said.

However, revenue declined 33.6% to RM279.5 million in 9MFY18 from RM420.93 million in 9MFY17 as inventories had been cleared for the Lakefront Villa, Residences and Casa View in the last quarter of FY17 and there have been no launches in the current year.

On prospects for FY19, MCT said it remains optimistic of an upswing in the property development and construction businesses despite "mixed emotions" regarding actual economic outcomes.

The group is in the midst of planning future phases of its existing land bank in Subang Jaya, Cyberjaya and Dengkil while scouting for opportunities to expand its land bank in anticipation of a market upswing.

"The sweet spot for the real estate business is still in the affordable segment with units ranging between RM100,000 and RM400,000," MCT said, adding that it has offered improved products and stronger marketing strategies.

At 2.30pm, MCT shares were unchanged at 87 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.27 billion.