Hatten Land still in the red with Q3 loss of RM13.2m

CATALIST-LISTED Hatten Land posted a net loss of RM13.2 million (S$4.5 million) for the third quarter, from a net loss of RM74.3 million in the previous year, the Malaysian property developer said on Wednesday evening.

Loss per share shrank to 0.96 sen, from a loss per share of 6.07 sen in the year-ago period.

For the three months ended March 31, revenue tumbled 48.1 per cent from RM164.9 million in Q1 2017 to RM85.5 million.

The decrease in revenue was mainly attributed to lower revenue recognised for Hatten City Phase 2 project and lower sales from Hatten City Phase 1 project in Q3 2018, Hatten Land said.

The revenue decline was partially offset by the higher revenue contribution from Harbour City and Satori projects, it added.

Net asset value per share slipped to 16.44 sen as at March 31, from 16.54 sen nine months ago.

For the nine months ended March 31, Hatten Land posted a net profit of RM585,000, reversing a RM51 million net loss in the corresponding period last year.

The loss for the period in fiscal 2017 was a result of one-off non-operating expenses of RM87.8 million in relation to professional fee and acquisition costs for a reverse takeover completed in January 2017.

Meanwhile, revenue for the nine months declined to RM185.4 million from RM332.4 million a year ago due to lower revenue recognised for Hatten City Phase 2 and lower sales from Hatten City Phase 1.

Hatten Land also posted unbilled sales of RM866.1 million for period.

Said Colin Tan, executive chairman and managing director of Hatten Land: "We have built strong business fundamentals and a prominent portfolio of niche assets in Melaka. With strong unbilled sales, we have clear earnings visibility for the next two years and will work hard to ensure timely project execution while being mindful of costs."

Hatten Land shares ended S$0.002 or 1.2 per cent down at S$0.161 at market close on Wednesday before the announcement.