KUCHING: Local property player, Naim Holdings Bhd (Naim) is expected to ‘shake-off’ its Sarawak-centric image as it aims to achieve yet another record year in financial year 2013 (FY13).
According to RHB Research Institute Sdn Bhd (RHB Research) analyst, Joshua Ng, “The company guided for another record year in terms of property sales in FY13, underpinned by new launches worth RM900 million.”
Half of the earnings were expected to come from shops, offices and condominium units in its RM2 billion integrated development, Bintulu Paragon in Bintulu, with the balance from residential units both landed and high-rise in Kuching and Miri.
In FY12, Naim recorded RM329 million in property sales, increasing by an impressive 67 per cent from the RM197 million achieved in FY11. Going forward, the launches in Bintulu Paragon was expected to underpin its property sales going forward.
“Thus far, Naim has already had ‘buying interest’ registered for shop units worth a total of RM80 million,” Ng said.
The Bintulu Paragon project was lauded as one of the largest integrated developments in town covering an area of 30 acres.
“Bintulu is now the fastest-growing property market in Sarawak backed by RM40 billion committed investment in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), particularly around the neighbouring Samalaju area,” it noted.
Targets aside, Naim had recently moved out of its comfort zone Sarawak, securing two station packages of the Sungai Buloh-Kajang My Rapid Transit Line project worth a total of RM361.4 million.
“While Naim expects the work packages to be profitable, the greater intention behind the jobs is to establish the company’s presence in Peninsular Malaysia,” the analyst added, noting that the company hoped to embark on property development in Peninsular Malaysia in three to five years.
In addition to that, Naim was also hopeful that its venture into the West Malaysian sector would help it to tap into the talent pool there.
“Naim has already been on an aggressive hiring spree, bringing on board at least five senior and experienced managers from various well-established corporations to head various divisions within the group,” he explained further.
Naim believed that the hiring of professional managers to run the company was the way forward if it wanted to break its ‘owner-operator’ limitations for further growth.
Going forward, Ng believed that the private sector would be buoyed by projects under SCORE, sustained high margins given limited competition from only a small pool of contractors for most public jobs in Sarawak and strong earnings margins from Naim’s 33.6 per cent-owned Dayang Holdings Enterprise Bhd.