Record-High Profit for FY2023
ARA DAMANSARA, 23 FEBRUARY 2024: Sime Darby Property Berhad (“Sime Darby Property” or “Group”) concluded its fiscal year ended 31 December 2023 (“FY2023”) with its highest post-2017 demerger revenue and operating profit, reaching RM3.4 billion and RM606.4 million, respectively. This marks its second consecutive year of exceptional results following its commendable FY2022 record of RM436.2 million operating profit. The Group achieved RM3.3 billion in sales, surpassing its RM2.7 billion sales target. Year-on-year (“YoY”), Profit after tax and minority interest (“PATAMI”) grew by 29%, totalling RM407.9 million compared to RM315.8 million in the previous year. Sime Darby Property declared total dividends of 2.5 sen per share in FY2023.
The Group’s revenue of RM3.4 billion marked a 25% YoY improvement, with profit before tax (“PBT”) registering a 33% YoY increase to RM610.3 million. The increase in revenue and PBT is primarily attributed to the robust sales performance and higher site progress in major townships within the Property Development Segment, supported by contributions from non-core land monetisation activities.
Sime Darby Property’s Group Managing Director, Dato’ Azmir Merican said, “Our exceptional performance, coming on the heels of FY2022’s results, certainly demonstrates our operational and financial competencies, against the backdrop of an uncertain operating environment in 2023 as a result of supply chain constraints, foreign exchange movement and labour issues. We set high targets, and are pleased to have far exceeded these expectations. Our results reflect our execution capability and equally important, our SHIFT25 targets continue to progress well and remain on track.”
Q4 FY2023 vs Q3 FY2023
All of the Group’s three business segments, namely, Property Development, Investment & Asset Management (IAM), and Leisure, recorded strong revenue in Q4 FY2023, contributing to the Group’s sustained total revenue of RM1.0 billion for the second consecutive quarter. The Group achieved RM817.9 million in sales in Q4 FY2023, with residential high-rise products as the highest contributor recording RM327.8 million for the quarter. However, PBT declined by 26% to RM169.6 million from RM228.5 million QoQ, due mainly to higher land sale recognition in the preceding quarter.
FY2023 vs FY2022
In FY2023, the Group achieved higher revenue and profitability, driven by the Property Development segment, which contributed to 94% of total revenue along with a 33% YoY increase in PBT. In the IAM segment, KL East Mall’s 90% occupancy rate contributed to the segment’s revenue of RM107.8 million, with PBT recorded at RM15.8 million. The Leisure segment’s revenue grew by 11% YoY to RM93.8 million. The segment also marked a milestone event – the LPGA-Maybank Championship, hosted at Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club in October 2023.
FY2023 Launches and Sales
The Group launched products worth RM4.0 billion in Gross Development Value (“GDV”), of which 17% comprised industrial products in Elmina Business Park, Bandar Bukit Raja, and Serenia City in Selangor; Hamilton Nilai City and Nilai Impian in Negeri Sembilan; and Bandar Universiti Pagoh in Johor. Residential landed and high-rise products recorded a notable average take-up rate of 73% for the same period, with Emilia in Nilai Impian and Teja in SJCC recording a 100% take-up rate.
The Group’s FY2023 sales achievement of RM3.3 billion comprised a diversified product mix, including residential landed 36%, high-rise residential 27%, and industrial products 31%. The industrial and high-rise residential segments recorded improvements, contributing 15% and 2% growth YoY, amounting to RM1.0 billion and RM889 million, respectively. Overall bookings as at 4 February 2024 stood at RM1.9 billion.
As at 31 December 2023, the Group maintained its unbilled sales of RM3.6 billion, which will provide further earnings visibility for the next three years. Completed inventories stood at RM390.3 million in GDV, while cash balances stood at RM603 million with a strong operating cashflow, excluding land acquisition, of RM617 million. The Group recorded a net gearing ratio of 23%.
On the international front, the Group’s Battersea Power Station project achieved £243 million (~RM1.4 billion) of residential sales in 2023. FY2023 was a pivotal year for the project, with more than eleven million visitors welcomed since 14 October 2022.
“Our SHIFT25 transformation journey is clearly delivering results and this is driving our optimism, despite the challenges that our sector may face in FY2024 and beyond. It has taken a great deal of energy and effort to arrive at where we are today, and we are in prime position to grow for the long term,” said Dato’ Azmir.
Dividend
Sime Darby Property declared a second single tier dividend of 1.5 sen per share in Q4 FY2023. This brings total dividends for FY2023 to 2.5 sen per share, amounting to RM170 million.
Outlook for FY2024
Sime Darby Property foresees a positive 2024 evidenced by rising sales volume, new property launches, successful completions as well as positive government policies and incentives. The Group announced an RM3.0 billion sales target and launches worth RM3.9 billion in GDV for FY2024. Sime Darby Property is expanding its retail and placemaking components with the Q2 opening of its second wholly-owned mall, the Elmina Lakeside Mall in the City of Elmina. The Group is optimistic about growth opportunities in this sector to broaden recurring income streams in the long term.
Sime Darby Property will remain guided by its Purpose to be a Value Multiplier for People, Businesses, Economies, and the Planet. To this end, the Group is laying its footprint in affordable homeownership via the new Seed Homes portfolio that aims to deliver solutions for the affordable housing segment in Malaysia.
Additionally, in line with its Net Zero pledge, Sime Darby Property has set a target to reduce emissions by 40% by 2030 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions and will increase engagement with industry associations and supply chains to advocate rapid decarbonisation.
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About Sime Darby Property Berhad
With over 50 years of experience, Sime Darby Property leads in creating master-planned communities, setting the benchmark for quality, innovation, and sustainability in residential, integrated and high-rise projects within its 25 townships and developments across Malaysia.
As it transitions into a real estate company by 2025, the company drives the industrial and logistics segment in Elmina Business Park, Bandar Bukit Raja, Hamilton Nilai City, and the Pagoh Special Economic Zone. Propelling its recurring income portfolio, Sime Darby Property is also the first public-listed property developer in Malaysia to venture into the creation of development funds in the industrial and logistics sector.
The company has pledged to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050, referencing the science-based target of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C. A consistent champion for biodiversity, Sime Darby Property is a constituent of the MSCI ACWI Small Cap Index with MSCI ESG Rating of BBB and is rated by the Carbon Disclosure Project.
A part of the respectable Malaysian consortium which successfully regenerated the iconic Battersea Power Station in the United Kingdom, Sime Darby Property also owns the multi-award-winning Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club, host to the prestigious LPGA-sanctioned Maybank Championship.
Driven by its Purpose to be a Value Multiplier for People, Businesses, Economies, and the Planet, Sime Darby Property through its philanthropic arm, Yayasan Sime Darby, continuously creates positive social impacts for the communities it serves.
Sime Darby Property is recognised as the World’s Best with Gold and Silver wins at the FIABCI World Prix d'Excellence Awards 2023, with other notable achievements, including All-Stars at the StarProperty Awards 2023, a Platinum ranking in the Property Development category at the Putra Brand Awards 2022, a Top 10 Developers (Malaysia) Award at the BCI Asia Awards 2023, a People’s Choice Award at the PropertyGuru Asia Awards Malaysia 2023, as well as named one of the nation’s top three property developers at ‘The Edge Malaysia’s Top Property Developers Awards 2023’.
For more information log on to www.simedarbyproperty.com
Media Contact: Adela Megan Willy | +6017-604 5562 | adela.megan@simedarbyproperty.com
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