Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld Malaysia) and Eco World International Bhd (EcoWorld International) are set to hit the combined RM5 billion sales target in the fiscal year 2021 (FY2021).
EcoWorld Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the two property firms are well on track to achieve the sales target set for FY2021, given the strong start achieved only four months into this current financial year.
Total sales achieved by the EcoWorld brand in the first four months of FY2021 is RM1.3 billion.
EcoWorld Malaysia recorded RM706 million in sales in 1Q 2021, which is more than double the RM305 million sales achieved in 1Q 2020.
As at February 28, 2021, total year-to-date sales for EcoWorld Malaysia amounted to RM911 million.
EcoWorld Malaysia's future revenue position as at February 28, 2021, remains high at RM3.59 billion, providing clear earnings visibility going forward.
Liew said team EcoWorld's ability to overcome the many challenges caused by the pandemic and substantially outperform last year's pre-Covid 19 comparative period shows how well both EcoWorld Malaysia and EcoWorld International have reinvented themselves and expanded the reach of the EcoWorld brand to seize fresh opportunities in the new normal.
He added that the two firms' solid performance, amid the current challenging time bodes well for the EcoWorld group's future especially when economic activities pick up and market confidence returns.
EcoWorld Malaysia president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah said the group is encouraged by the strong sales of RM911 million achieved so far in FY2021.
Chang also said the first four months of the financial year are typically slower due to the year-end holidays and Chinese New Year festivities.
However this time in addition to that was the Movement Control Order 2.0 (MCO 2.0) imposed by the government on January 13, 2021, to curb a new wave of Covid-19 outbreak in all three regions where EcoWorld Malaysia has its projects, he said.
Chang attributed the strong start to FY2021 to the positive response to EcoWorld Malaysia's ongoing promotional campaigns and the effectiveness of the group's digitalisation initiatives which have enabled faster sales conversion cycles.
There was also good take-up of the group's Eco Business Park projects with RM107 million in sales achieved as at 28 February 2021, close to 50 per cent of the RM220 million achieved in the full 12 months of FY2020.
"We are indeed grateful for the buying support from our customers which has enabled us to sustain the remarkable sales momentum experienced since the start of the second half of 2020, immediately after the first MCO was relaxed by the government," he said.
Chang said the total sales achieved by EcoWorld Malaysia over the last 10 months is RM2.88 billion and this is the highest it has achieved in a similar period, even in the pre-Covid era.
EcoWorld Malaysia has secured about 8,325.3 acres of land bank with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM86.9 billion.
Currently, it has a presence in the Klang Valley, Iskandar Malaysia and Penang with 20 projects in total comprising a product range that includes affordable, upgrader and luxury homes, integrated high-rise developments and green business parks.
Through EcoWorld International, the brand has also extended its reach to the United Kingdom and Australia.
Chang said that this year EcoWorld Malaysia will be launching Eco Botanic 2, offering landed homes priced from RM500,000 to RM800,000 in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.
The group will also launch Co-Homes at Eco Grandeur and Ergo Homes @ Eco Forest in the Klang Valley, as well as Eco Horizon in Penang, Chang said.
Chang said the properties in the respective projects are priced affordably, and they are ideal for Gen-Y and Gen-Z purchasers.
On the industrial front, EcoWorld Malaysia expects its four Eco Business Parks in the Senai, Pasir Gudang, and Tebrau corridors of Iskandar Malaysia as well as Puncak Alam in the Klang Valley to continue to record steady sales, buoyed by strong local demand particularly from those involved in the warehousing and logistics sectors.
Chang hoped the Covid-19 vaccination programme in Malaysia and many other countries in the region to ease cross-border business travel and this will boost demand as inquiries from foreign industrialists are translated into sales.