WCT Holdings Bhd's property development division is strengthening its marketing and sales effort to drive sales of new property launches in Klang Valley.
It will also work on reducing its unsold properties and divesting idle undeveloped lands to strengthen its operating cash flow position, its group managing director Datuk Lee Tuck Fook said.
The property division's unsold completed inventories totalled 612 units as at May 23, 2021, valued at RM544 million.
Ongoing projects include Aronia Apartment in Bandar Parklands, Klang (GDV: RM80 million), Paradigm Residence, Johor Bahru (GDV: RM184 million), and, Maple Residences, W City OUG @ KL (GDV:940 million).
During an analyst briefing last month, it was revealed that the sales take-up for the Aronia Apartment comprising 320 units of Rumah SelangorKu apartment is 46 per cent as at March 31, 2021.
The sales take-up for Paradigm Residence comprising 263 units of the apartment is 70 per cent and Maple Residences consisting of 940 units of the condominium is 76 per cent as at March 31, 2021.
Lee said in a statement that the recent surge in local infections is causing disruptions and uncertainties to the work and business volume of the group.
Forging ahead, he said WCT is cautiously optimistic and hoped that the rollout of vaccines in 2021 under the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme will lift market sentiments and stimulate demand for the group's property development offers and launches.
"The eventual easing of travel restrictions would drive footfalls to the malls and hotels," he said.
WCT is involved in engineering and construction, property development, retail malls, and hotels.
It currently operates five retail malls - AEON Bukit Tinggi in Klang (100 per cent-owned), Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya (70 per cent-owned), gateway@klia2 in Sepang (70 per cent-owned), Paradigm Mall in Johor Bahru (100 per cent-owned), and Subang Skypark where it recently took a 60 per cent stake.
For the financial year ended December 31, 2020 (FY2020), WCT registered a slightly lower revenue of RM1.7 billion (FY2019: RM1.84 billion).
The group recorded a loss attributable to equity holders of RM214 million as compared to the RM27 million loss registered in the previous financial year.
Lee said due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruptions to the group's business operations during the Movement Control Order period, the value of the group's investment properties, hotels, lands held for development, and completed inventories were impaired by about RM173 million during the year.
In addition, the group shared an additional loss of joint venture arising from an unfavourable final arbitral award of about RM28 million.
Excluding these one-off items, the group's loss attributable to equity holders would have been lower at RM13 million.