EcoWorld International president and CEO Datuk Teow Leong Seng
KUALA LUMPUR: EcoWorld International Bhd (EWI) achieved RM549mil in sales and reserves in the first 10 months of FY24, said president and CEO Datuk Teow Leong Seng.
He said the amount comprised RM501mil sales exchanges and reserves of RM48mil.
Embassy Gardens, which brought in RM224mil sales, was the biggest contributor, followed by Wardian (RM146 mil), and Millbrook Park (RM55mil).
Consequently, the property development group has reduced the value of its unsold completed stocks to about RM330mil, of which its effective share is about RM240mil.
"Roughly one-third of the unsold stocks by value are commercial units that are primarily marketed to investors," added Teow.
He said the group is focusing on leasing the units to commercial tenants given the current high interest rate, which increases the rental yield expectations.
The units will be sold to investors once the rental yields return to more favourable levels, he said.
Meanwhile, the remaining residential units are being actively marketed and are expected to be the primary source of cash flow for the group in the near term.
Teow said the group is prioritising the sale of completed inventory and distributing surplus cash to investors, given the uncertainty around the profitability of new developments.
"The group will continue to assess the viability of its remaining sites and will proceed with new launches only when market conditions are more conducive and expected returns can be projected with greater confidence."
In the third financial quarter ended July 31, 2024, EWI narrowed its net loss to RM8.19mil from RM12.3mil in the year-ago quarter. The group's loss per share was reduced to 0.34 sen from 0.51 sen previously.
The group recorded no revenue during the quarter under review as compared to RM31.17mil in 3QFY23 as there were no units sold and handed over to customers following the sell-out of all residential units in both projects in Australia, leaving two commercial units unsold.
EWI said the improved bottomline was owing to an improved share of results in joint ventures arising from sales of completed units by EcoWorld-Ballymore.
There were also lower marketing expenses due to the Australian projects being almost fully sold, and an absence of interest costs due to full repayment of loans in FY23.
For the nine months period to July 31, 2024, EWI registered a net loss of RM22.14mil as compared to a net loss of RM47.68mil in the year-ago period, while revenue shrank to RM31.82mil from RM76.24mil previously.
Including the net cash balances at joint ventures, the group reported a total net cash balance of RM271 mil as at July 31, 2024.
