Lau pointing to the location of the Amaris Terraces By-The-Sea within the masterplanned Seri Tanjung Pinang development. Star Pic by: ZAINUDIN AHAD / The Star / 13 Nov 2016
KUALA LUMPUR: Eastern & Oriental Bhd
(E & O) plans to launch an estimated RM205mil worth of properties in the next three months at its seafront masterplanned development of Seri Tanjung Pinang, Penang.
The property developer said in a statement that these upcoming launches would include 29 units of Amaris Terraces By-The-Sea and 32 units of Ariza Seafront terraced homes with standard unit built-ups of 5,262 sq ft and 3,800 sq ft respectively.
Currently at the preview stage and targeted for official launch by early-December, the Amaris homes will be among the final set of landed properties at Seri Tanjung Pinang.
“These superlink terraces will open up to sea views with internal courtyards reminiscent of gracious Penang houses of old,” it said.
The inaugural version of Ariza terraced homes were courtyard units launched in 2005 marking the successful maiden launch of properties in Seri Tanjung Pinang. The upcoming launch of Ariza terraces, targeted by the first quarter of 2017, will have the added distinction of proximity to the seafront.
E & O managing director Kok Tuck Cheong said in planning these launches, the group was mindful of the prevailing subdued market climate where investors have generally been maintaining a “wait and see” stance.
“While the present market environment calls for us to be selective in our launches, we believe there are pockets of opportunities to be realised.
“The property market is cyclical and as past trends have shown, innovative products in good locations backed by an established brand and track record will continue to appeal to genuine buyers,” he said.
Nearly RM152mil of the Main Board-listed developer’s properties were sold in the first six months of the group’s fiscal year ending March 31, 2017 (FY17). E & O’s projects in Penang, mainly The Tamarind executive apartments and 18 East at Andaman seafront resort condominiums, were the key contributors to the sales take-up during that period.
Meanwhile, E & O’s unbilled sales as at Sept 30 stood at close to RM1bil which Kok said would support the company’s performance for next 18 to 24 months.
Kok said in addition to the Amaris and Ariza launches in the immediate term, imminent launches from the group before the end of 2017 include the joint-venture service apartment project at Jalan Conlay, Kuala Lumpur, with Mitsui Fudosan and the maiden launch of terraced homes at the Elmina West township in Selangor.
From a medium-term perspective, Kok said E & O through its subsidiary Tanjung Pinang Development Sdn Bhd, was focusing on the reclamation works for Phase 2A of the Seri Tanjung Pinang Phase 2 project in Penang.
Meanwhile, in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday, E & O announced earnings of RM3.83mil for the second quarter ended Sept 30, down 84% from RM24.45mil a year ago, on 7.5% lower revenue of RM79.27mil.
For the half-year period, the company achieved earnings of RM7.1mil against RM47.71mil in the previous corresponding period. Revenue, however, grew 57% to RM242.59mil.
The decline in half-year profit was due mainly to the “investments and others” segment recording an operating loss of RM28.15mil against a profit of RM32.17mil in the previous corresponding period. The results were mainly affected by the exchange rate volatility of the British pound.
The property segment, however, enjoyed strong operating profit growth of 537% to RM51.84mil in the first six months of the financial year.
