Farlim in talks to acquire more land

PETALING JAYA: Property developer Farlim Group (Malaysia) Bhd, which has a cash hoard of over RM100 million, is currently in discussions with several parties to acquire land in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Perak, to enhance its property business.
“We are still (in discussions). We will announce it once we have concluded it (the discussion). We expect to conclude some (of the land acquisition) this year,” its chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Lim Gait Tong told reporters after its AGM yesterday.
“A lot of people are coming to us. But we want a win-win situation as the land cost is always very high. So we are waiting for the right price,” he added.
Currently, the group has 310.09 acres of landbank in Penang, Selangor, Terengganu, Malacca and Perak, of which 302.57 acres are undeveloped.
Last year, the Penang-based firm completed its acquisition of 92.74 acres of land in Bidor, Perak, which marked its first venture into the state.
Commenting on its financial performance, Lim said he expects to see better performance for its current financial year ending Dec 31, 2016 (FY16), driven by its existing and upcoming projects this year.
“We have got a major business park (project) in Penang which is already nearing completion, as well as other ongoing projects that include shophouses in Penang, Bukit Cerakah (Shah Alam) and Kajang. So that will generate a lot of turnover as well as profit for us this year,” he noted.
This year, Lim said, the group is planning to kick start a residential project development on its land in Perak, which would include affordable housing development.
“We plan to do a larger number of units for affordable homes this year. We think that this is also part of our responsibility,” he added, noting that affordable houses price should be around RM200,000 to RM500,000.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2016, Farlim recorded a net profit of RM3.91 million, from a net loss of RM990,000 in the previous corresponding quarter, mainly contributed from the progress billings of its existing commercial development project.
Revenue surged to RM15.99 million, compared with RM316,000 a year ago, mainly due to the increase in revenue for its property and trading segment.
At the AGM earlier, shareholders approved Farlim’s proposal for a first and final single-tier dividend of two sen per share for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2015.
Farlim shares were up 1 sen to 54.5 sen yesterday.