Tropicana has a sizeable land bank in the booming Johor market. One of its developments is the Lido Waterfront Boulevard fronting the Straits of Johor.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 10): Property developer Tropicana Corp Bhd (KL:TROP) on Monday said it has redeemed the third tranche of its sukuk wakalah programme worth RM110 million which was due on June 7.

This is part of the RM1.5 billion sukuk programme issued by the group in 2020 to facilitate its development plan. The first tranche of RM465.5 million was redeemed in June 2023 and the second tranche of RM179 million in October 2023.

"The redemption of sukuk reflects Tropicana’s prudent financial management and commitment to fulfilling its obligations to investors," said the group in a statement. "The group continues to deliver sustainable earnings backed by its RM2.4 billion unbilled sales, as well as improved performance from the group’s property development, property investment, recreation and resort operations."

Tropicana's net loss widened to RM9.08 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024) compared with RM5.23 million a year ago. Revenue for the quarter, however, rose 13.46% to RM291.28 million from RM256.73 million on the back of higher progress billings and a RM21.3 million gain on disposals of development land in Gelang Patah, Johor.

For FY2023, full-year net loss narrowed by 60% to RM174.19 million from RM435.59 million in FY2022, as revenue rose 60.68% to RM1.51 billion from RM942.56 million on higher progress billings and the completion of land sales in Kota Kemuning, Kajang and Genting Highlands for a total of RM205.6 million.

"Tropicana’s balance sheet continues to strengthen, with gross gearing level reduced from 0.74 times in FY2023 to 0.68 times as of March 31, 2024," the group said in its statement on Monday. “This degearing exercise has also decreased the group overall debt level from RM3.8 billion in FY2023 to RM3.5 billion.”

Tropicana reduced its borrowing by 16.22% to RM3.16 billion in FY2023 compared with RM3.77 billion in FY2022. The group’s borrowing was further reduced to RM2.86 billion as of end-March 2024, according to its latest financial statement.

Tropicana said it will continue its growth trajectory with its ongoing initiatives to enhance sales performance, monetise its land bank and investment properties as well as optimise financial management.

The group noted that it is in a good position to deliver sustainable performance in the next few years, supported by its unbilled sales of RM2.4 billion and a 1,842-acre land bank with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM120 billion.

"We have strategic divestment plans in place and we will continue to roll out effective sales campaigns to drive growth. To spur growth, we plan to roll out exciting residential or commercial developments across Malaysia, with an estimated GDV of RM4 billion," it said.

Shares of Tropicana closed one sen or 0.68% lower to RM1.47 on Monday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM3.38 billion. The stock has gained 16.67% year-to-date.