KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 8): Real estate developer I-Bhd (KL:IBHD) said on Thursday its net profit tripled in the second quarter from a year earlier, thanks to a turnaround of its leisure business and higher property investment income.

Net profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024) was RM5.45 million, compared with RM1.82 million for the same period in 2023, I-Bhd said in an exchange filing. Revenue for the quarter rose 33% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM55.53 million from RM41.85 million.

The company didn’t declare any interim dividend for the latest quarter.

“We have made significant strides towards rebuilding our pipeline”, and the company still has projects worth RM5 billion in gross development value, I-Bhd said. The company also had unbilled sales of RM90 million at the end of June, while demand for its flagship i-City properties remains strong, it said.

Further, a robust increase in international visitor arrivals is expected to boost hotel rates, occupancy rates, and revenue for its hotels, I-Bhd said.

The company, however, flagged challenges ahead, such as escalating operational costs and potential labour shortages, which could drag on its overall performance.

I-Bhd's leisure-and-hospital segment, including newly opened attractions, recorded a profit before tax of RM4.17 million compared to a loss of RM226,000 in 2QFY2023. The company also benefited from improved visits to its theme parks and hotels, thanks to school holidays and festive seasons.

The property investment business — which mainly comprises rental of Mercu Maybank, car parks and data centres — surged 58% to RM2.94 million from RM1.86 million. 

Pre-tax profit at the company’s property development operations, meanwhile, halved to RM621,000 from RM1.24 million in 2QFY2023.

For the first half ended June 30, 2024 (1HFY2024), net profit nearly quadrupled to RM9.52 million from RM2.49 million over the same period last year. Cumulative revenue, meanwhile, rose 11.4% y-o-y to RM96.16 million from RM86.31 million.