Tambun sees strong demand for mainland Penang properties

KUALA LUMPUR: Investors looking for exposure to the Penang property market have naturally gravitated to the island, with Eastern & Oriental Bhd being the current hot favourite. They have largely ignored the mainland.

But if the latest sales numbers from leading mainland Penang player Tambun Indah Land Bhd are any indication, property companies focusing on the mainland could look as interesting as those across the narrow South Straits that separates it from Penang island.

Listed in January this year, Tambun Indah, a leading mainland Penang property player, yesterday announced a 54.2% jump in revenue for 1HFY11 ended June 30 from RM57.32 million to RM88.4 million.

In a statement, managing director Teh Kiak Seng attributed the increase to contributions from ongoing development projects.

However, higher costs narrowed the growth in pre-tax profit to 16%, or RM21.76 million in 1HFY11, compared with RM18.76 million in 1HFY10. Due to higher minority interests, net profit fell 16% to RM11.12 million in 1HFY11, or 5.03 sen per share, compared with RM13.25 million in 1HFY10. The group registered a net profit of RM23.76 million in 2009, slightly higher than RM23.47 million a year before.

The substantial jump in revenue may be an indication that the property boom on wealthy Penang island is spilling over to the mainland. And the company offers good dividends too. It has proposed an interim single-tier dividend of 4.6 sen, to be paid on Sept 7. This translates into a net dividend yield of 6.1%.
Teh: Our GDV stands at RM1.7 billion, which will last us until 2016.

“We commenced construction of five new projects in 1HFY11, recognising the rising demand for residential properties following the rapid industrial developments in mainland Penang. At the same time, we noted positive take-up rates for our ongoing Pearl Garden and Pearl Villa developments, which together constitute approximately half of 1HFY11 group revenue,” Teh said.

Tambun Indah embarked on five new projects in 1HFY11 — Pearl Villas, Dahlia Park, Impian Residence, Tanjung Heights and Capri Park. Teh expects these projects to contribute to the group’s performance in the remaining half of FY11 ending December.

“At present, our GDV [gross development value] stands at RM1.7 billion, which will last us until 2016, with unbilled sales of RM225 million,” he wrote, adding that he is optimistic of the group’s performance for the remaining half of FY11.

Tambun Indah started operations in 1995. Its maiden project was Taman Tambun Indah, a township of over 800 houses, 300 bungalows, 40 semi-detached units, shop offices and terraced houses. The group has a landbank of over 121ha, mainly in mainland Penang.

In a year that saw most IPOs falling under water, Tambun Indah’s shares were last traded at 76 sen, up 8.6% from the IPO price of 70 sen. The stock has traded between 86.5 sen and 65.5 sen since it was listed, and is currently trading at 1.1 times its book value of 68 sen as at June 30.

The company has a market capitalisation of RM168 million. Based on annualised earnings for 1HFY11, it is trading at a price-earnings ratio of around 7.6 times earnings for this year.

In an earlier note issued during the listing, MIMB Research said it expects Tambun Indah’s net profit to grow by 10% in 2011 and 11% in 2012, mainly underpinned by property projects in the pipeline with a GDV of RM1 billion. “Dividend yield of 7% to 8% is one of the highest in the property sector. We value Tambun Indah Land at a fair value of 81 sen, based on a 30% discount to realiasable net asset value,” it said.