KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 17): Eco World Development Group Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended July 31, 2021 (3QFY21) dipped marginally by 1.9% to RM35.15 million, from RM35.83 million in the same period a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter fell 6.06% to RM448.91 million from RM477.87 million in the same quarter last year, mainly due to more completed or near-completed properties being sold, which enabled a higher percentage of revenue to be immediately recognised upon completion of sale of the units.

However, for the cumulative nine-month period, Eco World's net profit rose 59.19% to RM139.9 million from RM87.88 million in the same period a year earlier, while cumulative revenue was up 1.14% to RM1.38 billion, from RM1.36 billion previously.

With that, Eco World recorded RM2.873 billion in sales for 9MFY21 and by Aug 31 2021, it had reached RM3.11 billion. The group also saw its sales increase by more than RM1 billion since 2QFY21, enabling it to surpass the full-year target for FY2021 of RM2.875 billion.

It added that total sales achieved in 10MFY21 were 35% higher than the RM2.3 billion in FY2020.

In an exchange filing today, Eco World noted that the main projects which contributed to revenue and gross profit in 3QFY21 were Eco Majestic, Eco Forest and Eco Sanctuary in the Klang Valley; Eco Botanic, Eco Botanic 2, Eco Spring, Eco Summer, Eco Business Park II, Eco Tropics and Eco Business Park III in Iskandar Malaysia; as well as Eco Terraces in Penang. 

It added that the group’s share of the results of its Malaysian joint-ventures came from Eco Grandeur, Eco Business Park V, Eco Horizon, Eco Ardence and Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), whereby total contributions were 30.3% lower in 3QFY21 compared to the year-ago quarter, as progress on construction sites slowed due to restrictions imposed on site activities during MCO 3.0 and FMCO, coupled with the completion of Eco Horizon’s Phase 1 development.

"Despite the implementation of MCO 3.0 followed by the FMCO during our 3Q 2021, we are very pleased to report that the group has surpassed our FY2021 sales target in 10 months. Sales remained strong in all three geographic regions, as well as across market segments, which indicate the strength of fundamental demand for our projects and products,” said Eco World president and CEO Datuk Chang Khim Wah.

"Now that 100% of our staff who are medically eligible for vaccination and more than 80% of site workers are fully vaccinated, all of EcoWorld Malaysia’s construction sites are able to operate at full capacity, which will enable us to catch up on work progress,” he added.

The group has also been permitted to reopen its sales galleries, and are therefore able to welcome customers to visit them once again to personally view its projects and properties, which is still an important step in the buying process for many.

This, Chang said, will enable the group to proceed with its plans for the launch of several new phases before the end of the year, to build up a strong pipeline of sales for the upcoming year.

Eco World's share price closed unchanged at 80.5 sen today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.36 billion. Year-to-date, the stock has risen 67.71%.