KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 14): Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) reported that its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Oct 31, 2023 (4QFY2023) nearly doubled to RM3.29 million from RM1.77 million a year ago on the back of higher revenue and gross profit.

Earnings per share rose to 11 sen from six sen in the previous year's corresponding quarter, according to the group's bourse filing on Thursday.

Quarterly revenue saw a 50.98% jump to RM844.45 million from RM559.28 million in 4QFY2022, primarily driven by the completion of a 92-acre land sale in Eco Business Park II.

The property developer's share of results from its Malaysian joint ventures included contributions from Eco Grandeur, Eco Business Park V, Eco Ardence, Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), and Eco Horizon.

For FY2023, the group's net profit increased by 20.4% to RM189.3 million from RM157.2 million in FY2022, with revenue reaching RM22.26 billion.

The group declared a final dividend of two sen per share in 4QFY2023, bringing total dividends declared for FY2023 to six sen per share.

In a separate statement, Eco World announced that it had achieved RM3.61 billion in sales for FY2023 — exceeding its target of RM3.5 billion — with Eco Business Parks registering RM1.04 billion in industrial property sales, the highest in a single year.

Eco Hubs contributed RM515 million in commercial property sales in FY2023, a 15% increase over FY2022. Total residential sales in FY2023 amounted to RM2.05 billion, led by the group's Eco townships and Eco Rise.

"This year, EcoWorld recorded RM1.47 billion from sales of homes within its Eco townships that were priced above RM650,000 and RM577 million from homes priced below RM650,000, mainly from the group’s duduk series of apartments," it said.

The group stated that potential dividends from Eco World International Bhd in FY2024 would boost EcoWorld Malaysia's cash reserves, strengthening the group's capabilities to acquire new land banks.

Commenting on prospects, EcoWorld Malaysia president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah said the group had entered a highly cash-generative phase, with future revenue as of Oct 31, 2023, remaining healthy at RM3.49 billion, providing clear earnings and cash flow visibility in the near and medium term.

The group is maintaining its goal of selling RM3.5 billion worth of properties in Malaysia in FY2024, focusing on sustainable growth by improving absolute returns from its valuable land bank, whether via margin improvement or higher yield per sq ft of land developed.

"This is with the aim of sustaining EcoWorld Malaysia’s ability to continue rewarding shareholders with good dividend payments," Chang said.

In view of the group’s healthy cash position and strong balance sheet, Chang added that EcoWorld Malaysia is actively seeking to acquire more land banks to extend the breadth and depth of its product offerings under each of its four revenue pillars, with a view towards increasing its future pipelines of growth.

At the time of writing, EcoWorld shares were two sen or 1.96% lower at RM1, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.94 billion.