by S BIRRUNTHA / pic by TMR

UEM Sunrise Bhd extended its loss in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020 (4Q20), dragged by the severe business disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Movement Control Order (MCO).

The developer posted a net loss of RM134.66 million compared to RM125.21 million registered a year ago, widening its annual net loss to RM277.28 million for the financial year 2020 (FY20).

Its 4Q revenue fell 47% year-on- year (YoY) to RM611.64 million from RM1.16 billion due to the absence of major property launches and slower project progress completion in the first half of the year.

Its FY20 turnover declined 61% YoY to RM1.14 billion from RM2.91 billion.

Commenting on the financial results, UEM Sunrise CEO Sufian Abdullah said 2020 was a challenging year for UEM Sunrise given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which resulted in limited business activities.

He added that following the resumption of site activities in June 2020, the opening of the group’s sales galleries and the positive attitude of the organisation embraced learning to adapt to the new norm.

“We saw positive gradual movement in the market. The outcomes were captured in the second half of 2020 which supported the company’s performance for 2020.

“Unfortunately, the impact of the pandemic and the unavoidable impairment provisions affected the group’s profitability for the period,” he said in a statement yesterday. Moving forward, Sufian said the group is cautiously optimistic on the outlook and is pursuing gross development value (GDV) and sales targets of RM1.2 billion respectively for 2021.

UEM Sunrise is expected to introduce two new mid-market high-rise residences, namely KAIA Heights in Seri Kembangan, Selangor, with a GDV of RM350 million and a new development with a GDV of RM382 million in Taman Pertama, Cheras.

“We will also launch more double-storey homes in our prized Serene Heights, Bangi.

“In the southern region, we plan to introduce more attainable products that will extend our product outreach to the local market. This will be in the form of high-rise residences in Senadi Hills, Johor, at 1,400 sq ft (130 sq m),” he said.

The group will also launch affordable landed homes with a built-up area of 1,000 sq ft and priced at RM150,000 per unit in Gerbang Nusantara, Johor.