Sunway City Berhad (Sunway City) was recognized as the most profitable company with the highest return of equity over three years in the property and REIT sectors. The award was received from Datuk Seri Idris Jala, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department at the Edge Billion Ringgit Club Corporate Awards Gala Dinner 2011 held at the Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
The Edge Billion Ringgit Club (BRC) inductees are the best companies listed on Bursa Malaysia with at least RM1 billion in terms of market capitalisation on March 31 each year or turnover for the immediate preceding year.
(From Left) Datuk Tong Kooi Ong, Chairman of The Edge; Datuk Seri Idris Jala, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Department; Sarena Cheah, Director of Strategic & Corporate Development of Sunway City Berhad and Jeffrey Chew, Director and CEO of OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd.
Sunway City, Sunway Holdings Berhad and Sunway REIT are members of The Edge Billion Ringgit Club 2011. While membership in the Edge Billion Ringgit Club is automatically open to companies that meet the criteria, the awards are based on performance.
Sunway City was incorporated as a private limited company in Malaysia in 1982, and was converted to a public listed company in 1995. It currently has a market capitalization of over RM2.3 billion. Last year, Sunway City had made its mark in the industry by becoming the first integrated real estate conglomerate when it successfully listed Sunway REIT on the Main Market on the Bursa Malaysia – the largest REIT in Malaysia in terms of market cap and asset value. Today, it has a market capitalization of RM3 billion.
The company’s major financial achievements include a surge of 143% in share price from Jan 1, 2007 to June 30, 2011, from RM2.21 to RM5.38. Profit attributable to equity holders (PATMI) had increased from RM155.8 million in Fiscal Year Ended (FYE) June 30, 2007 to RM542 million in FYE Dec 31, 2010. Meanwhile basic earnings per share increased from 35.19 sen in FYE 20 June, 2007 to 115.32 sen in FYE 31 Dec, 2010 representing a CAGR of over 40% per annum. Net assets per share grew from RM3.06 per share in FYE 30 June, 2007 to RM5.53 per share in FYE 31 Dec, 2010 representing a CAGR of approx 20% per annum. It had rewarded its shareholders with the highest gross dividend declared since its listing amounting to 31 sen per share for FYE 31 Dec, 2010.
“We are privileged to receive this recognition, which underscores Sunway City’s commitment to deliver and create value for our shareholders,” says Dato’ Ngeow Voon Yean, Managing Director – Property Investment, Sunway City Berhad.
“We attribute our extraordinary performance to visionary leadership, perceptive and transparent corporate policies; as well as synergistic and passionate teamwork, which compound the bulwark of the company’s continuous progress,” he adds.
Managing Director – Property Development, Malaysia, Sunway City Berhad, Ho Hon Sang, says, “Sunway City will continue to strive to perform all our economic functions in the most efficient and productive manner, employing optimal use of current technology,”
“We will continue to protect our shareholder’s investments, and provide them a sustainable return, and give them confidence in our corporate governance through transparency and accountability.”
“The merger between Sunway City and Sunway Holdings will unlock even more value for all shareholders through the creation of a streamlined platform for expansion of the property and construction businesses, as well as realization of synergies within the Group,” he adds
Sunway Berhad, as a result of the merger, is expected to be listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia in August. The exercise will create a single, more sizeable integrated regional property-construction player, which shall create economies of scale and synergies as well as greater brand clarity for going to market and to attract talent.
The new entity will be one of the largest property-construction players with strong presence in the region. The total assets amounting to RM7 billion, a land bank of 2,200 acres with a total GDV of approximately RM25 billion and a market capitalization of over RM3.5 billion will propel Sunway to be one of the top five property and construction companies listed on Bursa by market cap.
The enlarged entity will translate to an optimized access to capital markets through an expected increase in liquidity, which will command greater investor interest. The company is also expected to enjoy lower financing cost with enhanced cash management. Its larger and stronger balance sheet will also empower the Group to bid for larger and more profitable projects.