PETALING JAYA: UEM Sunrise Bhd posted a 29% jump in revenue to RM252.7mil for the first quarter ended March 31,2021, from RM195.85mil a year earlier, thanks to higher progress billings and construction progress.

The property development company said its losses for the quarter has narrowed to RM4.32mil compared to losses of RM22.15mil due to higher operating profit and better share of results from the group’s joint ventures and associates, as well as improved performance of Horizon Hills Developments Sdn Bhd for its Horizon Hills development in Iskandar Puteri and Sunrise MCL Land Sdn Bhd for Forest Heights, in Seremban.

In terms of sales, UEM Sunrise said its sales performance for the period between January and March this year has improved substantially to RM272mil compared to RM97mil a year ago, contributed by its Residensi AVA in Kiara Bay, Residensi Allevia in Mont’ Kiara as well as Senadi Hills and Estuari Gardens in Iskandar Puteri, Johor.

UEM Sunrise expects a “more visible” recovery in the second half of this year as more of its projects progress.

As of March 31, its unbilled sales stood at RM1.9bil.

“While revenue and sales showed improvements following the positive momentum after the introduction of the recovery movement control order in the second half of 2020, the company’s encouraging performance is still at its initial phase.

“The majority of its projects are newly launched and are at their early stages of construction progress.

“Recovery in performance is expected to be more visible in the second half of the year, ” it said in a statement.

Chief executive officer Sufian Abdullah said there was a growing demand for competitively priced products and the group will be launching a series of affordable and more attainable properties this year.

“For this, we have launched RM243mil worth of properties in the central region. Tower A of KAIA Heights in Equine Park, Seri Kembangan was launched on March 10 and a new phase in Serene Heights Bangi, Verna’s garden cluster homes and twin villas on April 8, ” he said,

Sufian said the group’s take-up rate for its completed projects in both the central and southern regions is 93%, reflecting the commendable sales of its inventories.

“About 78% of the current quarter’s total sales were contributed by newly-launched and ongoing projects, ” he added.