KUALA LUMPUR: Construction-and-property outfit Crest Builder Holdings Bhd is confident of achieving higher profit this year, boosted by sales from its Shah Alam and Batu Tiga property developments.
Managing director Eric Yong said the company had also secured an external orderbook worth RM400mil and had tendered for another RM4.5bil jobs. “The total orderbook, including our in-house projects, will sum up to RM1.1bil,” Yong added.
He said this after the groundbreaking ceremony of Latitude8, a high-end Dang Wangi light rail transit (LRT) mixed-development project.
According to a report, Crest Builder was the first to bag a transit-orientated project from Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd back in April 2012 for the Dang Wangi LRT station.
It was reported that Prasarana would be entitled to about 21.2% of the total gross development value, including land cost.
“The total gross development of this project is RM1.16bil and will go on full swing by the end of the year.
“It will start contributing to the group from next year onwards,” he said.
Yong said the company planned to launch Latitud8 in the fourth quarter this year if the market sentiment picked up towards the end of the year.
Crest Builder had called off a proposed private placement of shares in November last year due to the weak market. It had proposed a private placement of up to 10% of the issued and paid-up capital of the company, amounting to about RM29.8mil based on indicative price of RM1.42 per placement share.
The proceeds from the capital raised were to be used for preliminary expenses in the Dangi Wangi project.
The company is now talking to several parties to help raise funds to develop Latitud8 and Malaysian Rubber Board mixed-development job in Ampang.
Yong hopes the deal would come through in the next two to three months and will see the party either inject funds or become an equity partner in the developments.
In a report, Yong said the company hoped the new financier would be able to cover between 40% and 50% of the construction costs of the two developments.
However, Yong added that the company had no issues in financing its ongoing projects and “is good for the next 15 to 18 months”.
