“Unfortunately, we have the GST in the second quarter, which impacted house buyers… we are actually going through an adjustment period of about six to nine months, but we hope for sales to pick up in the second half,” Datuk Steven Ng Poh Seng said, adding that Mah Sing had unbilled sales of RM5.1 billion as of March 31, 2015.
Mah Sing expects better sales in 2H
KUALA LUMPUR (June 19): Mah Sing Group Bhd expects sales to pick up in the second half of the year (2H2015) following sales of just RM761 million in the first four months of the year – or 22% of their RM3.43 billion sales target – on the back of weaker sentiment and fewer working days, according to a report in The Edge Financial Daily today.
Mah Sing executive director of corporate and investments Datuk Steven Ng Poh Seng said the group hopes that stronger demand for affordable housing will counter poor sentiment arising from the weaker ringgit, low commodity prices and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in April.
“We recorded sales of RM761 million for the first four months of this year, with RM560 million earned in the first quarter ended March 31, 2015 (1Q2015). We hope to see stronger sales momentum in the second half,” he told reporters after Mah Sing’s annual general meeting yesterday.
“Unfortunately, we have the GST in the second quarter, which impacted house buyers… we are actually going through an adjustment period of about six to nine months, but we hope for sales to pick up in the second half,” he said, adding that Mah Sing had unbilled sales of RM5.1 billion as of March 31, 2015.
However, Poh Seng said it was still too early to consider cutting the group’s sales target for the full year – mirroring its achievement in 2014 – as he feels that the group should be able to bridge this gap with their line-up of launches and stronger sales momentum in 2H.
He added that prices of affordable homes — which will be Mah Sing’s focus moving forward — will hold steady as demand in this segment remains strong.
This year, Mah Sing plans for 44% of its residential launches to be priced below RM500,000, 71% to be priced below RM700,000 and 84% to be priced below RM1 million.
Mah Sing chief executive officer Ng Chai Yong said the group has deferred some launches planned for 1H2015 to 2H2015 to ease the impact of slower demand in 1H2015.
Meanwhile, the group is keen on undertaking its maiden project in Negeri Sembilan – a township development with a gross development value of RM7.5 billion – despite a new housing policy which, among others, includes the raising of the bumiputera quota from 30% to 50% there.
Read more here. TheEdge Property 19/6/2015
