OSK Holdings Berhad recovered to pre-pandemic levels last year, achieving greater revenue and pre-tax profit due to improved operating performance, marking a new high for the group since 2016.
The group locked in a revenue of RM1.3 billion for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (FY2022), an increase of 17 per cent from the corresponding period in the previous year (YoY).
Pre-tax profit increased 5 per cent year on year to RM488 million, owing to improved results in its real estate, hospitality, financial services, and investment holding segments.
"Given the Covid-19 and macro challenges that we have faced over the past three years, the group has performed well not only in terms of our financial performance which has recovered to above pre-pandemic levels but also in how we instil resiliencies that drive better business outcomes.
"The new milestones that we have achieved today are due to the strategies and plans that we had put in place years ago. These measures have come to fruition, underpinned by the continued economic recovery seen in the fourth quarter of FY2022 (4Q2022)," said the group's executive chairman Tan Sri Ong Leong Huat.
According to Ong, the property development business (OSK Property) launched RM1.11 billion in properties in FY 2022, up from RM883.2 million in FY 2021.
The new launches were split among the group's townships in Kedah's Bandar Puteri Jaya and Negeri Sembilan's Iringan Bayu, as well as Butterworth and the Klang Valley.
OSK Property's total unbilled sales remained strong as of end-FY 2022, at RM1 billion (FY2021: RM0.9 billion), owing to high take-up rates for new and continuing projects, with little unsold completed stock.
During FY2022, OSK bought two parcels of freehold property in Sungai Petani, Kedah, and Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, totaling RM401 million in gross development value (GDV).
The group's land bank now totals 2,003 acres as of 4Q 2022, located across Malaysia's Klang Valley, Sungai Petani, Butterworth, Kuantan, and Seremban, and Melbourne, Australia, with an estimated effective GDV of RM16.3 billion.
"In Australia, we will continue to sell the completed Melbourne Square (MSQ) stage 1 residential apartment. Going forward, stage 2 of MSQ comprising a single tower of approximately 600 units of apartments is expected to be soft launched in the middle of 2023," Ong said.
Ong said the property investment sector generated consistent rental revenue from Plaza OSK, Faber Towers, and Atria Retail Gallery.
He said that the division earned a valuation gain of RM6 million in FY2022 due to higher occupancy rates in Plaza OSK and Faber Towers, as well as decreased impairment/write-back of debts as the retail and office sectors recovered following the complete resumption of economic operations.
Ong also said that the group's hotels have benefited from the significant comeback in the hospitality sector since the lifting of travel restrictions in April 2022.
According to him, hotel occupancy and room rates have improved significantly across the board, owing primarily to pent-up demand for local tourists and meeting/convention events.
"This has helped drive up our average room rates and resulted in an increase in revenue and profits generated. We expect the pent-up demand for local tourism will continue in FY2023," he said.