IMPRESSION CITY BY END 2017

Yong Tai Berhad : bullish on Impression City
     
02/24/2016 | 03:12 am
KUALA LUMPUR: YONG Tai Bhd expects its RM5.4 billion project in Malacca to generate net profit margin of 20 per cent, which would help to sustain the company's earnings in the long term.

The garment maker-turned-property developer, which has been loss- making for several years, expects to return to the black this year with contribution coming from the real estate sector.

The company, which has pockets of developments in the Klang Valley and Johor, is planning to develop Impression City on a 47.03ha site in Malacca.

The project would be developed in 11 phases and over 10 years, said its executive director Boo Kuang Loon.

Construction for Phase 1 would start in the third quarter of this year and feature retail and commercial units, said Boo at a luncheon hosted by MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd, here, yesterday.

It is expected to have a gross development value of RM1.1 billion,

The catalyst for the commercial-led Impression City is the Impression Melaka performing arts theatre, to be built on the 47.03ha site.

Construction of Impression Melaka, the jewel of the company, will start next month at a cost of RM300 million and includes land acquisition. The opening is slated for end-2017.

Boo said although Impression Melaka required a huge capital investment, the returns would be long term and attractive.

It would take two years to construct and the projected returns would start from 2018 onwards, he added.

With 15 million tourists visiting Malacca annually, Yong Tai hopes to attract at least 1.1 million visitors to Impression Melaka, with 40 per cent coming from China.

The company is also targeting visitors from Southeast Asia (30 per cent), Asia (20 per cent) and the rest from the Middle East, Europe and the United States.

"With two shows a day and tickets priced at RM120 per person, we are poised to achieve a revenue of RM140 million a year, including the sale of souvenirs and merchandise. For this business, we are targeting a profit margin of 50 per cent. This would net us a profit of around RM60 million a year.

"There are many more upsides, such as increasing the ticket prices and having up to four shows a day. This is the potential of Yong Tai in the future," said Boo.

"For the next two years we are at the investing stage and would generate profits. But the profits would not be much to give dividends," he said.