Fajarbaru plans RM728m projects

Small-cap contractor Fajarbaru Builder Group Bhd has property projects with a gross development value (GDV) of RM728mil in Malaysia.

Besides that, its first overseas joint-venture project in Melbourne, which has a GDV of A$77mil (RM215.6mil), has seen a take-up rate of 80%.

The construction player, with a market cap of RM139.77mil, plans to launch three projects in the Klang Valley and Malacca by the end of 2016. These include a condominium project in Puchong with a GDV of RM400mil, a serviced apartment project in Sentul with a GDV of RM250mil and serviced apartments in Malacca with a GDV of RM78mil.

Its property division manager Yau Tuck Wai said it would launch the Puchong project by year-end, the Sentul project in the first quarter of 2016 and the Malacca project in the third quarter of 2016.

At the signing ceremony of a loan facility agreement with Maybank, Yau said the 136-unit luxurious condominium project at the Doncaster suburb of Melbourne would be completed by end-2016 or early-2017. The 0.6 acre was bought a year ago for RM20.61mil.

Its finance director Ooi Leng Chooi said the 51%-owned Fajarbaru-Beulah (Melbourne) Pty Ltd, that was working on the Gardenhill project in Melbourne, would contribute positively to its earnings once it was completed. For its third quarter ended March 31, close to 80% of its revenue came from construction activities.

Its current unbilled order book is RM450mil.

Fajarbaru-Beulah executive director Chan Jiaheng expects the construction of the project to start in six weeks’ time, while the whole project would take about 15 months to complete.

“We’re finalising the contractors now,” he said, adding that buyers of the high-end condos comprised a mix of foreign and local investors as well as buyers for own-stay.

Ooi declined to comment on the amount of loan taken for the Australian project, but conceded that it would inevitably impact its gearing. The firm’s total borrowings was at RM46.97mil as at March 31, while cash and cash equivalents stood at RM36.9mil.

He said the facility was in Australian dollars to mitigate currency exchange risks.

The units are priced at about A$700 per sq ft.

For the third quarter ended March 31, net profit fell 18.1% to RM782,000 compared with RM955,000 a year earlier. Revenue for the same quarter surged 93.1% to RM106.03mil from RM54.92mil a year ago.

As for its first nine months, earnings jumped 35.34% to RM3.37mil from RM2.49mil in the previous corresponding period, while revenue rose 28.3% to RM274.66mil from RM214.1mil. - By The Star