KUALA LUMPUR (May 25): S P Setia Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 (1QFY21) jumped more than threefold to RM75.23 million, from RM24.09 million a year ago, mainly driven by progressive revenue recognition from strong take-up rates achieved.

Its quarterly revenue also rose 49.83% to RM1.05 billion, from RM702.66 million a year ago, its filing to Bursa Malaysia showed.

The group did not declare any dividend for the latest quarter.

The group said both revenue and profit before tax for 1QFY21 were higher than the corresponding quarter in the preceding year, mainly driven by progressive revenue recognition from strong take-up rates of mature townships in the Central region as well as its Daintree Residence project in Singapore, as a result of pent-up demand following the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine in many countries.

The group also said in a statement that it recorded a strong sales performance of RM1.19 billion for 1QFY21.

“Local projects contributed RM923 million or approximately 78% of the sales, whilst the remaining RM265 million or approximately 22% were contributed by international projects mainly from Daintree Residence, wherein the demand for residential properties in Singapore has gained traction recently,” it said.

On the local front, it said sales were primarily derived from the Central region at RM705 million, followed by the contribution from the Southern region at RM148 million while another RM74 million was from the Northern region.

“We have intensified our marketing efforts to generate more sales before the Home Ownership Campaign 2020 ends in May 2021. In addition, we had also launched a total gross development value (GDV) of RM525 million landed properties. They comprise mostly double-storey terrace and/or semi-detached homes during this period, and the responses were overwhelming in some of our flagship developments,” said S P Setia president and chief executive Datuk Khor Chap Jen.

“Also in line with the business strategies for FY21, we had cleared RM206 million worth of completed inventories during this period. We will continue our focus in clearing our completed inventories while in parallel launch new demand-driven products in our matured townships. The group also secured noteworthy bookings of RM1.29 billion, and the priority is to convert these bookings into sales swiftly, and hopefully with the support of a quicker end financing process,” he added.

The group continues to be cautiously optimistic of sustainable market momentum for the second half of FY21, especially with the recent announcement of the Movement Control Order 3.0 by the Malaysian Government imposed across the nation.

Nonetheless, it opined that the economic outlook is projected to improve on the back of the ongoing nationwide vaccination programme, which will ultimately spur the economy, specifically the local property market.

“Given the strong start in our sales performance for this current year, the group will strive to maintain the sales momentum while at the same time continue the emphasis on its strategic priorities to strengthen and optimise the capital structure alongside its land bank utilisation,” it said.

In embracing the new norm, it said the group’s digital transformation journey will be accelerated as well as sustainability agendas being implemented across its products and business operation.

As of March 31, 2021, the group has 47 ongoing projects, with an effective remaining land bank of 8,513 acres valued at a GDV of RM135.7 billion and total unbilled sales of RM10.12 billion, which will tide the group over the next two years.

At noon break, S P Setia slipped one sen or 0.99% to RM1, valuing the group at RM4.06 billion.