Kerjaya Prospek expects a better market in 2022

KUALA LUMPUR: Construction outfit Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd will see a better financial performance in 2022 from an improved property market and lower raw material prices, according to co-founder and executive chairman Datuk Tee Eng Ho.

“Next year should see more property launches. I believe the property market in 2022 will be better as the economy recovers,” he said at an online media briefing.

Eng Ho added that raw material prices had dropped slightly from their peak in 2021, and “should drop further in the next three to six months as logistics issues are resolved.”

“Raw material prices should come down in 2022, easily by 5% to 10%,” he said.

In a statement, Kerjaya Prospek CEO and executive director Tee Eng Tiong said the group had secured RM908mil in new contracts which brought its outstanding order book to RM3.6bil as at Sept 30, 2021.

“As the economy reopens and travel restriction eases, we expect more improvement on our construction progress in the upcoming quarters.

“We adjusted the target launch dates for two of our property development projects to the first half of 2022 to time the market in tandem with the increasing demand for properties in Malaysia,” said Eng Tiong.

For its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021, the group posted a 20.4% year-on-year drop in net profit to RM24.2mil, although revenue was marginally higher at RM222.6mil.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2021, net profit grew 6% year-on-year to RM66.6mil while revenue was 21.2% higher to RM681.2mil.

Earnings per share for the nine-month period was 5.38 sen compared with 5.1 sen recorded a year ago.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Kerjaya Prospek said for the higher revenue for the nine-month period was mainly due to the progress of construction works on site.

The construction works progress were halted only in June 2021 as a result of the full movement control order being implemented.

The construction segment is expected to continue to be the main contributor to the group, moving forward.