I-Bhd expects better performance after 50% jump in 1Q net profit

KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): I-Bhd, whose first-quarter net profit jumped 50% year-on-year, expects to perform better for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2016 (FY16).

Its deputy chairman Datuk Eu Hong Chew said the expected better performance for FY16 would be attributable to the group’s unbilled sales, which grew to RM743 million as at March 31, 2016 from RM552.5 million a year ago.

“The unbilled sales at the start of the year are more than three times the 2015 revenue generated from property development segment, thus providing a good base for the growth in revenue and profit for this year. On top of that, we have had a very positive response to the recently launched Hyde phase of i-City [in Shah Alam, Selangor], thus ensuring the revenue pipeline for 2017 is equally strong,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Eu added that the property development revenue, which had grown eight-fold since 2012 to RM200 million in 2015, is expected to hit its annual revenue target of RM500 million by 2018.

I-Bhd’s net profit grew to RM15.36 million or 1.45 sen a share in the first quarter ended March 31, 2016 (1QFY16) from RM10.24 million or 0.96 sen a share a year ago, on higher contribution from its property development and leisure segments.

Revenue rose 6.8% to RM80.45 million in 1QFY16 from RM75.35 million in 1QFY15.

“This is a good start for 2016 as historically our best performing quarter is at the end of the year. We expect to see a continued increase in profits every quarter,” said Eu.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, I-Bhd expects both the property development and leisure segments to continue contributing positively in the current financial year.

“The board expects that the unbilled sales will continue to grow as seen from the encouraging sales of the group’s ongoing projects and the recent launch of the Hyde Tower [in i-City].

“By the end of the year, the group is expecting to complete and hand over the i-SOHO project to the purchasers, thereby translating at least one-third of the existing unbilled sales into the group’s revenue solely by this project.

“As the construction progresses, the board expects the existing as well as the continuous build-up of sales commitment to translate into higher revenue to the group in the future,” said I-Bhd.

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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 26, 2016. Subscribe to The Edge Financial Daily here.