Mah Sing Group Bhd is looking for strategic land banks which are suitable for affordable products in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Klang Valley, and Johor.
Founder and group managing director, Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum expects market demand for affordable houses to remain resilient as the majority of the country's young population does not own a home.
"We believe that properties are the preferred investment asset class to build and preserve wealth. Armed with strategically located landbanks, we will continue to focus on well-designed products with attractive price points in line with the market demand," he said.
Mah Sing has a healthy balance sheet with cash and bank balances of about RM1.05 billion for the quarter ended 31 March 2020.
In the first quarter ended March 31, 2020, Mah Sing posted a pre-tax profit of RM43.1 million on the back of revenue of RM371.1 million.
The group achieved property sales of about RM247.4 million for the period under review, it said in a statement.
Leong said the development projects which contributed to the quarterly earnings include M Vertica in Cheras; M Centura in Sentul; Southville City in KL South, Southbay City in Penang; Meridin East and Sierra Perdana in Johor.
Other projects which also contributed are M Oscar off Kuchai Lama; Lakeville Residence in Jalan Kuching; D'sara Sentral in Sungai Buloh; M Aruna in Rawang; Ferringhi Residence 2 in Penang; Meridin @ Medini and Mah Sing i-Parc in Johor.
Revenue from property development was RM281.3 million while operating profit was RM36.7 million for the three months.
Leong said this was due to traditionally softer demand during the Chinese New Year festive season as well as delayed construction progress due to the movement control order (MCO) that was implemented on March 18.
"Weaker buyer sentiments and the closures of construction sites and sales offices due to the imposition of MCO in response to Covid-19 pandemic further weighed on sales conversion and rate of works," he said.
Despite the pandemic, Mah Sing is planning new launches this year. It will launch M Adora in Wangsa Melawati, M Luna in Kepong, Carya in M Aruna (Rawang), remaining blocks of M Vertica in Cheras, Ferringhi Residence 2 in Penang and Acacia, Jasmine link homes in Meridin East, Johor.
Leong said Mah Sing will continue to introduce innovative marketing campaigns to enhance the buyers' homeownership journey.
The group has set a sales target of RM1.6 billion for 2020 with 84 per cent of products priced below RM700,000.
"While the market is challenging, the group is cautiously optimistic that demand for our property projects will obtain buyers' interest, driven by strategic location, attractive price points coupled with attractive packages, innovative design, and layout."
As of March 31, 2020, Mah Sing has remaining landbank of 807.6 hectares with remaining gross development value and unbilled sales totalling about RM24.9 billion.