KUALA LUMPUR: SkyWorld Development Bhd is optimistic about the company's share sale exercise in the third quarter of this year, said its founder and chairman Datuk Seri Ng Thien Phing.
"The trend for new initial public offerings (IPO) this year have all been extremely positive. We foresee the demand for our company shares would be strong since there is an uptrend this year," he told the New Straits Times.
Ng said SkyWorld planned to use a portion of the proceeds from the share sale for debt repayment, acquiring land here and working capital to restock its land bank in the future.
He said that SkyWorld had been considering going public ever since it was founded in 2014.
"When we first started, our goal was to pursue a listing. The route toward greater expansion, corporate growth, and market penetration includes more than just listing. It's neither the end of the game nor a break.
"The IPO can improve the customer's branding and image while fostering trust. My projects are all done to Qlassic standards. We complete projects on time or ahead of schedule. We've never had a project delayed. We want our customers to have faith in our brand and our calibre. We hope those who believe in us, will continue to support us and be a long-time stakeholder," Ng said.
Since the launch of its property development operations in 2014, the company has completed seven developments worth RM3.05 billion collectively.
The company now has six ongoing developments with a GDV of over RM2.5 billion.
SkyWorld reported a consolidated net profit of RM65.25 million for the financial year 2020 (FY2020) on revenue of RM523.86 million in contrast to a net profit of RM63.31 million for FY2021 on the back of RM488.8 million revenue.
Its net profit for FY2022 rose to RM104.29 million, as revenue increased to RM790.45 million.
The company today said it had received the green light from the Securities Commission to list on Bursa Malaysia's Main Market.
It will issue 208 million additional shares to the public, or around 20.8 per cent of its expanded issued share capital at the time of listing.
Some 50 million of these 208 million additional shares will be made available for application by the public, and 25 million will be made available for application by qualified directors, senior executives, employees, and people who have helped the firm succeed.
The remaining 133 million additional shares will be made available through private placements to institutions and chosen investors.
The IPO further entails an offer for the sale of 192 million existing shares, equivalent to 19.2 per cent of the enlarged issued share capital of the company.
A total of 150 million existing shares will be made available via private placements to Bumiputera investors approved by the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry, while the remaining 42 million existing shares have been earmarked for institutional and selected investors.
Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd is the principal adviser, underwriter, and placement agent for the IPO.