Eco World International Bhd (EcoWorld International) says it is on track to hand over the three remaining Built-to-Rent (BtR) blocks of Barking Whaft in east London within the current financial year ending October 31, 2021 (FY2021).
President and chief executive officer Datuk Teow Leong Seng said the three blocks will be handed over in stages.
Barking Wharf comprises five blocks of between nine and 23-storeys on the site of the Tesco car park on Highbridge Road.
The first block was completed and handed over in November 2020.
Teow said the construction of the group's projects in both the United Kingdom (UK) and Australia are all progressing well.
EcoWorld International, whose major shareholders are Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld Malaysia) and GuocoLand Ltd has 18 existing and upcoming projects in the UK and Australia with a total gross development value of GBP4.8 billion and AUD716 million respectively.
Its entry into the UK began with the EcoWorld-Ballymore joint-venture (JV). The JV is currently developing three prime waterside residential projects in London.
In 2018, EcoWorld London was launched giving EcoWorld an immediate presence in the highly resilient UK mid-mainstream market and the fast-growing B+R sub-sector.
The group's two active projects in Australia are West Village in Sydney's second central business district of Parramatta, and Yarra One in Melbourne's South Yarra neighbourhood.
Teow said based on current construction programmes, the group expects the handover of apartment units in Millbrook Park Phase 2 and Embassy Gardens Block A03 to commence in the second half of FY2021.
He said the completion of these projects will not only allow revenue recognition but also generate significant cash flows for the group.
EcoWorld International and EcoWorld Malaysia are set to hit their combined RM5 billion sales target in FY2021, given the strong start achieved only four months into this financial year.
Total sales achieved in the first four months of FY2021 or as at February 28, is RM1.3 billion (EcoWorld Malaysia: RM911 million and EcoWorld International: RM408 million)
Teow said EcoWorld International's sales of RM408 million are all from Open Market Sales (OMS) of the group's properties.
"The consistent sales rate achieved, notwithstanding a third national lockdown imposed in the UK since December 2020, is very heartening. The continued strong overseas demand we have been experiencing also clearly demonstrates that London is still the preferred destination for global property investors which bodes well for both the OMS and BtR segments of our portfolio," he said in a statement last Friday.
For the first quarter ended January 31, 2021, EcoWorld International's net profit jumped by more than 10-fold to RM56.03 million, from RM5.19 million a year ago.
Quarterly revenue rose to RM303.28 million from RM51,000 a year ago, the group's filing to Bursa Malaysia showed.
Moving ahead, EcoWorld International is hopeful that property market conditions in the UK and Australia will continue to improve with the mass rollout of vaccination programmes against Covid-19 progressing well in the UK and Australia.
The UK is targeting to vaccinate all of its adult population by July 2021 while Australia is aiming to achieve the same by October this year.
Teow said the resumption of cross-border travels and lifting of movement restrictions should have a positive impact on employment, income, and buyer confidence.
He said the extension of the stamp duty holiday to June 2021 also signals the UK Government's intention to continue providing support to the real estate market, which bodes well for EcoWorld International's projects in the UK.
Down south in Australia, Teow said there are some early signs of a turnaround in the property market as home prices recorded a slight improvement in the first quarter of FY2021.