Bina Puri Holdings Bhd, which recently secured a nearly RM1 billion job for the new low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) project in a joint venture with UEM Group Bhd, may be poised to benefit from more collaborations with the government-linked company.
Sources told The Edge Financial Daily that Bina Puri was now close to signing a joint-venture agreement with Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) to develop some seven acres of a RM500 million mixed development in Medini, one of the five flagship zones of Iskandar Malaysia.
Bina Puri and IIB would form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) with them holding 80% and 20% respectively, a source said. The agreement is expected to be sealed soon.
Bina Puri had earlier hinted in its FY09 annual report that the project was in the pipeline but had then expected its GDV to be worth RM350 million.
Bina Puri will also be launching 23 high-end low-density houses in Medini.
Medini is known to be among the main projects in the Iskandar region. It will house, among others, the International Financial District. The development has helped pull in some foreign funds in Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co and Kuwait Finance House.
Medini is located within the Nusajaya development, which is undertaken by UEM Land Holdings Bhd, the listed subsidiary of the UEM Group.
According to Bina Puri’s annual report, the property division would have a potential GDV of up to RM446.8 million this year. In FY09, the division contributed only RM11.12 million or only 1.4% of the group’s revenue amounting to RM788.05 million.
Bina Puri posted a net profit of RM1.71 million in its first quarter ended March 31, 2010, up 68% from a year earlier as revenue from progressive contruction projects streamed in. Revenue more than doubled to RM298.42 million from RM134.95 million.
Bina Puri’s JV with UEM Group’s subsidiary UEM Construction Sdn Bhd was recently awarded the new LCCT’s largest package valued at RM997.23 million and bringing Bina Puri group’s order book to RM2.7 billion.
Margins for the LCCT contract is estimated to be at 6%. Bina Puri holds 40% stake in the JV.
Kenanga Research estimated the company’s gearing to be at one time for FY10. Bina Puri’s total borrowings as at end-March 2010 stood at RM247.27 million with RM244.69 million due within the next 12 months.
As at March 31, cash and cash equivalents stood at RM75 million, while accumulated losses fell further to RM21.98 million from RM22.13 million.
Shares of the usually illiquid counter have been actively traded in the past week following the award of LCCT contract.
The counter closed at RM1.31 last Friday, down three sen.
Kenanga has upgraded Bina Puri to a buy from hold with a higher target price of RM1.77 per share, based on price to FY10 earnings multiple of 10 times. The industry is currently trading at an average PE of 14.25 times.
“We have revised our earnings forecast higher by 81% and 72% for FY10 and FY11, respectively, to reflect the newly secured LCCT contract as it has exceeded our estimates in securing new contracts in FY10,” the research house said in a recent report.
Kenanga estimates Bina Puri’s revenue for FY10 to be RM924.7 million, which is about 18% higher than for FY09.
This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, July 26, 2010.
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