KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): Crescendo Corporation Bhd’s (KL:CRESNDO) net profit for the second quarter ended July 31, 2024 (2QFY2025) surged more than 30-fold year-on-year (y-o-y), boosted by its data centre-linked land sales in Nusa Cemerlang Industrial Park (NCIP), Johor.

Net profit for the three-month period came in at RM140.84 million, compared to RM4.28 million a year ago, according to the Johor-based property developer's bourse filing. Earnings per share also rose to 50.4 sen from 1.53 sen.

Revenue for the quarter jumped more than fivefold to RM321.46 million from RM61.12 million in 2QFY2024. Notably, its property development and construction operations recorded revenue of RM291.4 million and operating profit of RM182.5 million, contributing over 75% to the operations.

As of Sept 30, the group reported committed property sales of RM260 million, including land sales at NCIP totalling RM115.9 million.

Buoyed by this strong performance, Crescendo declared an interim dividend of one sen per share, along with a special dividend of five sen per share, totalling six sen per share, to be paid on Nov 13.

However, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, net profit fell 51% from RM289.03 million, while revenue decreased 39% from RM527.28 million.

For the six-month period ended July 31, 2024 (1HFY2025), Crescendo's cumulative net profit soared 24 times y-o-y to RM429.87 million from RM17.48 million, with revenue increasing more than sevenfold y-o-y to RM848.73 million from RM119.45 million.

This means the company is on track to achieve record high top line and bottom line performance for FY2025, which would be its best results in two decades.

As of the end of July, Crescendo had a land bank of 2,513 acres across the southernmost state. It plans to launch several residential property projects next year.

These include 167 mid- to high-end landed residential units in Bandar Cemerlang and 57 shop office units in Desa Cemerlang, with a total gross development value of RM237 million.

Additionally, Crescendo aims to launch a serviced apartment project along Jalan Senyum near the RTS terminal in Bukit Chagar in the second half of FY2025, featuring about 1,200 units with a gross development value of RM1 billion.

"We also intend to commence the main infrastructure work for the industrial park in Bandar Cemerlang in FY2025, with plans to launch the first sales phase within the next three years," the company said.

Despite potential geopolitical and economic challenges, Crescendo is optimistic about its upcoming developments and expects to operate at full capacity in the coming years.

Shares in Crescendo closed nine sen, or 5.36% lower, at RM1.59 on Friday, valuing the company at RM1.34 billion. Year-to-date, the stock has risen by 113%.