SimeProp bullish on 2025 after strong 1Q
PETALING JAYA: While keeping a positive outlook for 2025, Sime Darby Property Bhd (SimeProp) remains cautious towards the degree of worldwide volatility beyond this year, especially emanating from the trade tariff situation, and is concerned about its wider impact.
Group managing director and chief executive Datuk Azmir Merican remarked that volatility is 'never a good situation', before saying that it is helpful to understand how finalised tariff decisions can affect all parties involved, since Malaysia has substantial business relations with the United States, China and Asean.
'That said, we are rather optimistic for 2025, but it is when we look towards 2026 and beyond, we wonder whether future launches and lending will be affected, not as a primary impact on our properties but as part of a secondary round of impact,' he told a virtual media briefing yesterday following the release of its first quarter of financial year 2025 (1Q25) results.
He acknowledged that SimeProp, being a property developer, is highly dependent on the overall economy doing well, which in turn influences investor confidence.
Nevertheless, Azmir reiterated the group's bright prospects for the near and medium term, especially throughout 2025.
Despite recording a marginally lower net profit year-on-year (y-o-y) of RM118.4mil for 1Q25 as compared to the corresponding period a year ago, Azmir emphasised that 1Q24 was the group's strongest quarter thus far, and the result from 1Q25 was therefore encouraging.
This was underpinned by the fact that net profit margin had improved from 12.6% to 13.6% y-o-y in 1Q25.
He pointed out that 1Q25 profitability was supported by a turnaround in the investment and asset management segment, coupled with profit from compulsory land acquisition, which offset the lower segment results from the property development segment and leisure division.
Having launched a total gross development value (GDV) of RM656.5mil in 1Q25, from a goal of RM4bil GDV to be put in place this year, Azmir said SimeProp will launch the remaining GDV of RM3.3bil across the industrial, residential and commercial segments, with respective shares of 30%, 59% and 11%. The group has a sales target of RM3.6bil for 2025.
Of interest, industrial products contributed to half of the RM927.5mil sales figure achieved by the group in 1Q25, with residential high rise products contributing in total 27% of sales, while residential landed properties made up 16%.
Commercial products, meanwhile, contributed to 7% of sales, driven by sustained demand across our maturing townships.
Azmir observed that sales remained concentrated within central and Greater Klang Valley, with a notable increase in contribution of 20% from Negri Sembilan.
Explaining the relatively larger share of sales contribution from the group's industrial segment, chief operating officer for township development Apollo Leong said in the second half of 2024, SimeProp launched nine phases of industrial properties, compared to only three phases of landed residential developments.
'The big jump in sales contribution by industrial properties is due to the timing of their recognition, although we do have a heavy pipeline of industrial properties as well,' he said.
As such, Azmir maintained that residential properties would catch up to industrial products with regards to sales contribution, although with the group also focusing on industrial launches, he is expecting the latter segment to yield more than a 30% share in sales by end of 2025.
Meanwhile, commenting on its Battersea Power Station (BPS) project, he said the take-up rate for the residential component of Phase 3B (Electric Boulevard) had increased to 74%, representing a 6% quarter-on-quarter growth, while the office leasing rate remained at 45%.
He noted that footfall at BPS also grew a healthy 8% y-o-y in 1Q25, before remarking that since its opening in October 2022, the location has welcomed over 30 million visitors.
'More importantly, we have secured detailed planning approval and consent from Wandsworth Council for Phase 3C of BPS, comprising a mix of residential, retail, community and leisure development, with anticipated completion in 2029,' said Azmir.
Elaborating on the group's strategy for BPS going forward, he said leasing enquiries for the office building has been strong, and rental rates have been encouraging.
However, he said SimeProp is more keen to take in tenants for longer tenures, with the aim that they can commit for up to 10 years.
'Since we have leased out almost half the building, and because securing long tenancies remains our goal, we are now selective with our prospective tenants.
'We would prefer they commit for the long term, because then we can have an idea of how they can provide stabilised rental income for the group,' said Azmir.
On the other hand, he said rental rates in the United Kingdom have shot up faster than expected, which has become a double-edged sword, because while this means there is a higher likelihood that tenants will be able to pay rental rates above the group's projections, it could also represent the fact that it may take a longer time for space to be taken up.
For the rest of 2025, Azmir reported that the company is guiding for a gross profit margin of 20% to 25%, and a debt-to-equity ratio of less than 0.5 times by balancing active working capital and investments for future growth.
It is also aiming to ensure optimal asset turnover by maintaining at most 10% of completed stocks.
'We see strong growth from the property development segment across 26 townships, driven by a well-diversified mix of residential, industrial and commercial products.
'Concurrently, our retail segment is also growing, supported by two wholly-owned malls, with a combined net lettable area (NLA) of approximately 608,000 sq ft and the upcoming KLGCC Mall with a NLA of about 240,000 sq ft,' he said.
The group also has an existing land bank of about 11,400 acres with a GDV exceeding RM100bil to be unlocked, as it is also expanding into the high-growth data centre asset class with two hyperscale data centres at Elmina Business Park spanning across 126 acres, on top of a secured total lease value of RM7.6bil over a period of 20 years.
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