KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 21): UEM Sunrise Bhd (KL:UEM), in which Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s subsidiary UEM Group Bhd owns a 69.56% stake, saw its net profit more than double in the third quarter from last year, thanks to higher land sales margin and higher operating profit margin in the latest quarter.

The property developer achieved year-to-date sales of RM928.5 million, which is 93% of its full-year sales target of RM1 billion for 2024, UEM Sunrise said in a statement on Thursday. It attributed the achievement to well-executed project launches and strategic inventory management.

The group is confident in meeting its full-year sales target of RM1 billion, given the strong momentum it has seen so far, according to UEM Sunrise chief executive officer Sufian Abdullah.

UEM Sunrise has also exceeded its launched gross development value (GDV) target of RM800 million, with projects launched in high-demand locations, including Aspira Hills (Phase 1), DiReka Square and Aspira LakeHomes (Phases 4, 5 and 6) in Iskandar Puteri, which collectively achieved RM499 million in GDV.

The group's net profit for the three months ended Sept 30, 2024 (3QFY2024) jumped to RM23 million from RM8.34 million in 3QFY2023, as revenue rose 18.24% to RM369.33 million from RM312.35 million — mainly driven by the sales of non-strategic lands in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, but offset by lower contribution from property development.

No dividend was declared with the release of its latest quarterly earnings.

For the first nine months of FY2024, UEM Sunrise’s net profit rose 3.35% to RM50.01 million from RM48.39 million in the same period a year ago on lower financing costs, higher profits from its strategic joint ventures and associates, and cost optimisation.    

Revenue, however, dropped 12.82% to RM799.51 million from RM917.09 million on lower contribution from property development, which was partly offset by higher contribution from land sales.

The group’s unbilled sales grew to RM2.89 billion at the end of the nine-month period, providing visibility for revenue and cash flow for the next 18 to 36 months, the group said, while its net gearing stood at 0.43 times, with RM1.18 billion in cash and bank balances.

Shares of UEM Sunrise slipped one sen or 1.03% lower to 96.5 sen on Thursday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM4.86 billion.