I-Bhd 2Q net profit down 51% as unbilled sales shrink

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 29): I-Bhd's net profit fell 51% to RM10.83 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19) from RM22.31 million a year earlier mainly due to lower unbilled sales from its property development segment and as the company's real estate investment registered losses.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing today, I-Bhd said group revenue fell to RM42.21 million from RM107.16 million.

"(Under the property development segment) the performance for the current quarter had been impacted by lower unbilled sales as there was no new project launched in 2018. Hence, the revenue of this quarter came mainly from the sales of the remaining completed units. In contrast in 2QFY18, the Liberty, Parisien and Hyde (Phase 4) developments in i-City were still ongoing.

"(Under property investment) the improvement in revenue for 2QFY19 arises from the lease of the additional completed investment properties in the segment. The extended loss before taxation was a result of the operating costs incurred for the additional completed investment properties in the segment as well as the share of results of an associate.

"The leisure segment revenue has been fairly sustainable with a slightly lower profit before tax for the current quarter," the group said.

For 1HFY19, I-Bhd said net profit fell to RM17.26 million from RM46.8 million in the previous corresponding quarter while revenue declined to RM83.27 million from RM266.51 million.

Looking ahead, the group said its FY19 operating performance "will be challenging" despite the group's continuous strategic effort.

I-Bhd noted that the property market is expected to remain soft, particularly in the residential and commercial sub-sectors, on the back of weak market and consumer sentiments.

The group said its unbilled sales as at June 30, 2019 stood at RM123.5 million versus RM138.2 million as at March 31, 2019.

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