27th Apr 2016 09:55
LONDON (Alliance News) - Aseana Properties Ltd Wednesday said it swung to a loss in 2015 after revenue came in almost four times lower than in 2014 due to the soft property market in Malaysia hitting sales at a number of its assets in the country.
The Malaysia and Vietnam property development company recorded a pretax loss of USD20.7 million for the year ended December 31, from a profit of USD15.4 million, as revenue dropped to USD22.1 million from USD85.1 million.
Aseana said the fall in revenue came from the negative economic and political conditions in Malaysia, which meant demand for residential properties in the country slowed considerably, evidenced by a drop in the number of loans applied for such properties in the period from June to December, 2015. This economic slowdown also meant the Ringgit weakened against the US dollar.
Aseana added that it had witnessed some early signs of recovery in the Vietnamese property market, but any improvement here was offset by the lack of sales of major assets during the year and lower sales from its SENI Mont' Kiara apartment complex and Tiffini venture project.
Its Harbour Mall Sandakan property was 40.8% let at the end of 2015 and is currently 63.6% occupied, it said. Four Points by Sheraton Sandakan Hotel achieved an occupancy rate of 36.4% as at December 31 and was 33.9% occupied in the period to March 31, Aseana said.
Its net asset value per share fell to USD0.61 at the end of the year from 0.76n a year earlier.
"The market conditions in Malaysia are expected to remain sluggish due to a number of factors, namely the falling Ringgit, political uncertainty as well as reducing oil and commodity prices. The pace of the economy in both the external and internal markets is affecting all economic sectors and the property sector is no exception," President and Chief Executive Lai Voon Hon said.
"In line with the lacklustre 2016 Budget and with continuous cautious lending practices by local banks, most property developers will foresee a somewhat bleak property market this year," the Voon Hon said.
"On the flip side, the conditions in Vietnam have been recovering well and 2015 has marked a new turning point for Vietnam's economy, hence creating a solid foundation for the country towards achieving greater and more sustainable growth. This will hopefully benefit Aseana Properties' investments in Vietnam as we look to divest them in a timely and strategic manner," Voon Hon added.
Shares in Aseana were untraded on Wednesday, having last traded at USD0.45.
By Hannah Boland; [email protected]; @Hannaheboland
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Aseana Prop.