Eco World International Bhd president and chief executive officer Datuk Teow Leong Seng
KUALA LUMPUR: Eco World International Bhd
(EWI) says its plan to monetise its completed stocks is proceeding as planned with the value of unsold completed stocks reduced to about RM290mil as at October 2024.
In a statement, the property developer said the group's effective share of these stocks is about RM210mil, which it aims to sell in FY25.
"Approximately half of the unsold stocks by value consist of commercial units in the UK. While high interest rates are dampening the prices of investment assets overall, we have commenced marketing selected tenanted commercial units.
"The interest has been encouraging, driven by their prime locations and the strong business performance of their tenants. Simultaneously, we are actively seeking high-quality tenants for vacant units to maximise their sales value," said EWI president and CEO Datuk Teow Leong Seng.
In FY24, EWI achieved RM531mil sales exchanges plus reserves of RM50mil, for a total of RM581mil.
The group's Embassy Gardens development was the biggest sales contributor with RM234mil while Wardian contributed RM140mil and Millbrook Park, RM63mil.
Teow added that construction costs in the UK have remained relatively stable in recent months although the second-home buyers are now subject to higher stamp duty rates following the UK government's latest budget announcement.
"Persistently high mortgage rates also continue to discourage many potential investors from committing to purchases," he added.
"Considering the reduced investor demand, we will prioritise the sale of completed inventory for the distribution of surplus cash to shareholders."
Teow said the group will continue to evaluate the development feasibilities 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 final quarter ended Oct 31, 2024, WWI registered a net loss of RM12.21mil, which was narrower than a net loss of RM37.69mil in the year-ago quarter.
The group's loss per share shrank from 1.57 sen to 0.51 sen.
It said this was owing to lower losses reported by its UK joint ventures, as well as lower administrative expenses from cost optimisation initiatives and lower marketing expenses as its Australia projects are almost fully sold.
Revenue, meanwhile, dropped to RM1.32mil from RM28.55mil in 4QFY23.
Over the full financial year, the group's net loss was RM34.35mil, less than half the net loss of RM85.37mil in FY23, while revenue was RM33.15mil compared to RM104.8mil in the previous year.
The board declared a final dividend of five sen per share, with ex date on Dec 26, 2024, and payable on Jan 14, 2025.
