Premier lifestyle property developer Eastern & Oriental Berhad’s (E&O) net profit surged by 11-fold to RM31.4 million in the second quarter results for the financial year ending 31 March 2024 (Q2FYE2024) in contrast to Q2FYE2023’s RM2.7 million.
“The substantial growth was mainly due to the enhanced revenue and absence of unrealized foreign exchange loss of RM19.9 million recognized in Q2FYE2023,” it said in a statement today (Nov 22).
For the quarter under review, the group posted a revenue of RM123.9 million, up 30.4% from RM95.0 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
The properties segment’s revenue rose by 35% from RM71.4 million to RM96.4 million in Q2FYE2024, as a result of higher sales of its on-going project, Arica@Andaman, as well as its joint venture projects namely Conlay, The Peak and Avira Garden Terraces, E&O said.
“Similarly, the hospitality segment’s revenue increased by 15.8% from RM22.5 million to RM26 million, attributed to higher average room rate and occupancy rate achieved by Eastern & Oriental Hotel (Penang) and E&O Residences (Kuala Lumpur), in the current quarter under review.
For the cumulative six-month financial period ended 30 September (1HFYE2024), E&O’s revenue rose by 22% from RM171.6 million in the corresponding period last year, to RM209.3 million.
“The properties and hospitality segments were the revenue growth drivers, whereby revenue was up 22.2% to RM157.4 million and 20.8% to RM49.4 million, respectively with profit after tax (PAT) of RM68.3 million, an increase by 19 folds from 1HFYE2023’s RM3.5 million.
“Unrealised foreign exchange gain of RM25.7 million, in comparison to the RM42.7 million in 1HFYE2023, was also a factor behind the significant PAT surge,” it added.
E&O managing director Kok Tuck Cheong said he is pleased with the group’s financial performance which is aligned within our expectations.
“The encouraging sales from Arica not only indicate our understanding to deliver and cater to the demand of today’s property buyers, but also stand to support our larger ambition for a sustainable Andaman Island in the long run.
“We are currently working on our up-and-coming landed homes in Andaman, which is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of FYE2024, hoping that our Andaman sales numbers to continue,” he said.
He said the property market is showing promising signs of growth, and therefore the group is cautiously optimistic that this will futher boost earnings.
“As we are heading into year-end festive season, we are seeing higher occupancy rate in our hotels in Malaysia and London, which we believe will continue to contribute positively to our earnings,” added Kok.
