This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 5, 2024 - August 11, 2024

Property developer Plenitude Bhd (KL:PLENITU), which is also involved in property investment and hospitality businesses, has been seeing a strong earnings recovery post-pandemic.

The group, whose bottom line dived from RM42.2 million in FY2019 to RM8.2 million in FY2020, saw its net profit rise 45.1% to RM11.9 million in FY2021, then more than double to RM25 million in FY2022, before jumping 75.2% to RM43.8 million in FY2023, surpassing its FY2019 level.

The net profit growth happened at a peer-topping compound annual growth rate of 75% over the FY2020 to FY2023 period, based on the computation of The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club Corporate Awards. This won Plenitude the Highest Growth in Profit After Tax over Three Years award among property companies listed on Bursa Malaysia with a market cap of less than RM1 billion.

The earnings recovery came as revenue, which dropped from RM226.6 million in FY2019 to RM188.8 million in FY2020, rose to RM208.5 million in FY2021, RM272.7 million in FY2022 and RM361.7 million in FY2023.

Listed since 2000, the property group’s development portfolio is currently spread across five main growth destinations: Sungai Petani in Kedah; Penang; Puchong in Selangor; and Ulu Tiram and Johor Bahru in Johor. It also owns eight hospitality assets or hotels, six locally and two overseas, namely Novotel Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Kuala Lumpur; Oakwood Hotel & Residence Kuala Lumpur; Mercure Penang Beach, Penang; Ascott Gurney Penang, Penang; Travelodge Georgetown, Penang; Travelodge Ipoh, Perak; Travelodge Myeongdong Euljiro, Seoul, South Korea; and Travelodge Honmachi Osaka, Osaka, Japan.

It also has two residential assets: Tanjung Point Residences in Penang and Domitys Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur. Domitys Bangsar is an independent senior living facility that opened in October 2022 after a year of refurbishment. Domitys is a leading brand for the provision of lodging and hospitality to senior citizens and a key player in the silver economy in France.

For its latest financial year ended June 30, 2023 (FY2023), the substantial increase in profit was primarily driven by healthy revenue recorded from the sale of landed properties and the hotels’ higher occupancy rates and boost of average room rates, Plenitude says in its annual report 2023.

Its property development business recorded a revenue of RM219 million or 60% of the group’s total revenue for FY2023, with 55% of the top-line contribution coming from the group’s Taman Desa Tebrau project in Johor Bahru, 22% from Phase 5 of the Taman Putra Prima project in Puchong and 15% from its Bukit Bintang development project in Sungai Petani.

Meanwhile, revenue from its hotel operations jumped to RM136.9 million — almost three times the RM47.5 million that was recorded in FY2022. The segment made up 37.8% of the group’s FY2023 revenue.

Plenitude’s hotel operations comprised both its hospitality and residential assets. Its assets in Penang and Kuala Lumpur collectively contributed 70% of its hotel revenue, while its hotel in Ipoh contributed 10%. Its Seoul and Osaka assets contributed 14% and 6% of the segment’s revenue respectively.

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