UEM Sunrise 4Q net profit surges sixfold on divestment gain

KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Sunrise Bhd’s (UEMS) net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2019 (4Q) surged sixfold to RM126.25 million from RM19.75 million for the corresponding quarter last year, largely due to a gain from divestment.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, UEMS said revenue for the quarter jumped 54% to RM1.16 billion from RM752.79 million.

Earnings per share climbed to 2.78 sen from 0.44 sen previously.

But for the financial year ended Dec 31 (FY19), UEMS’s cumulative net profit fell 20% to RM223.8 million from RM280 million a year ago, despite revenue rising 42% to RM2.91 billion from RM2.04 billion.

In a separate statement, UEMS said the group’s sales for the year came in at RM1.13 billion, including the sale of five industrial plots in the Southern Industrial Logistics Cluster in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.

“This is a shortfall to the RM1.2 billion sales mark as the FY19 target included the sale of Mayfair in Melbourne. The company divested the Mayfair’s site for A$107 million to unlock its value and free up cash for other investment and venture prospects,” it said.

It launched projects worth RM1.2 billion in gross development value in 2019, and as at Dec 31, had unbilled sales of RM1.8 billion.

UEMS managing director and chief executive officer Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib said its results were largely supported by the strong settlement of Aurora Melbourne Central, which accounted for RM1.3 billion of the total revenue, and a settlement rate of 97% to date.

“We still have around A$36 million (RM99.6 million) pending settlement in addition to A$125 million from the en bloc disposal of its serviced residential component to Scape Australia Management Pty Ltd, the largest asset owner and investor of the purpose-built student accommodation sector in Australia, which is expected to be completed in April 2020.

“We also plan to retain the retail component valued tentatively at A$42 million for recurring income purposes. Conservatory is 99% sold with a settlement rate to date of 89%.

“Around A$43 million is still pending settlement. We are confident we should be able to achieve full settlement for both Aurora Melbourne Central and Conservatory by year end,” he added.