Business

Thursday June 25, 2009

Mulpha sees operating profit this year despite quarterly losses


SUBANG: Diversified group Mulpha International Bhd is confident it will remain profitable at the operating level for the financial year ending Dec 31 (FY09) despite recording higher impairment losses in previous quarters.

Executive chairman Lee Seng Huang said the company’s losses in the past three quarters were due to impairment and devaluation of its assets that must be provided for in its accounts.

“Certain write-offs can be temporary. There were no real losses so to speak, as these are merely impairment losses that we have to provide for in our accounts,” he told reporters after the company’s AGM yesterday.

He added that the write-offs would be “written back” into its accounts as soon as the economy recovered and the valuation of its assets rose.

“We are confident of the long-term value of our assets and are not looking to sell if the pricing is not acceptable,” Lee said.

Mulpha wanted to conserve its liquidity and held up its assets through the cycle, he added.

Mulpha, whose core businesses include property development, derives 80% of its revenue from overseas markets including Australia, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Currently, it has a net gearing level of about 0.2 times and a cash balance of over RM200mil.

On the outlook for its main overseas market in Australia, Lee said: “The sentiment is slowly changing. The financial panic that we saw five months ago has abated and there is a lot more stability now, thanks to the successful launches of stimulus packages globally.”

“We are seeing a lot of private individuals and families going back into the property market that you don’t see six months ago,” he added.

Locally, Mulpha had so far held back all its property launches following the financial crisis.

The projects it hopes to launch this year include a high-end boutique development in Bangsar, a luxury residential on a 2.5-acre freehold land in Bukit Tunku and Leisure Farm Resort in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor.


MULPHA : [Stock Watch] [News]


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