UEM Sunrise Chief Executive Officer Sufian Abdullah. Image from: UEM Sunrise

UEM Sunrise Berhad (“UEM Sunrise” or the “Company”) exceeded its RM1.2 billion sales target for the year 2021, selling 1,595 units and hitting RM1.46 billion in sales despite the pandemic and fewer new launches.

Developments in the Klang Valley including Residensi Ava in Kiara Bay and Residensi Allevia were the main contributors, with sales value of RM438.4 million and RM215.7 million respectively constituting 45% of UEM Sunrise’s total sales. The Central region developments make up 71% of the total sales while the remaining is contributed by the Southern region products. For Southern region, Senadi Hills (Phase 1) came out tops with RM109.8 million worth of properties sold for the year.

In 2021, UEM Sunrise maintained a conservative outlook amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the Movement Control Order, launching only 40% of the total product Gross Development Value (“GDV”) of the RM1.2 billion target set at the beginning of the year.

“We have improved significantly on our sales compared to 2020 when we achieved RM1.13 billion. Despite our targeted and laser-focused launches, subdued consumer sentiment and tightened lending protocols for the last year, we did very well in surpassing our sales targets proving that customers believe in the quality and value of our products, and that this Company is on the path of recovery,” said UEM Sunrise Chief Executive Officer Sufian Abdullah.

Owing its successes to the Chinese New Year ‘Must Cari Ong’ campaign and the Happy Chase Virtual Live Show, the Government’s Home Ownership Campaign 2.0 which ended December 31 last year also saw a bump in sales. Sales in the month of December saw an approximate surge of 2.5 times in comparison to its total sales in November 2021.

For this year, UEM Sunrise is announcing an increased sales target of RM1.5 billion with plans to launch projects worth RM3.3 billion in GDV, totalling 3,526 units. This includes activating the 1.3-acre site in Collingwood, Melbourne, acquired back in 2020 to launch a mixed-development project with an estimated GDV of AUD250 million.

In an aggressive launch pipeline centered on the second half of 2022, the Company will continue to launch new phases of existing sought-out projects namely Serene Heights Bangi as well as Senadi Hills and the Aspira-themed products in Iskandar Puteri, with plans to also unveil new projects to the market. This includes a new mixed-use transit-oriented development on the 6.86-acre land adjacent to the Taman Connaught MRT station in Cheras and a new mixed integrated high-rise development in Mont’Kiara, code-named MK 31. Further details of these new developments will be shared in due course.

“UEM Sunrise will continue to listen to market demands and respond with a range of relevant and quality products at the right locations, built with sustainable practices and designs, all packaged with value that is worth its price tag,” said Sufian.

He added that the Company has improved its performance in the second half of the year as the economy reopened following the National Recovery Plan after mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic with a successful vaccination programme. UEM Sunrise is also currently making up for the lost time in ensuring that construction is back on schedule after the closure of sites during the Movement Control Order.

“In the absence of the Home Ownership Campaign which we have anticipated, we will be banking on robust marketing campaigns, starting with the ‘Happy Duo Duo’ Chinese New Year campaign just launched two weeks ago which offers rewards and goodies to housebuyers.

“We are also ensuring that our products are priced accurately to meet the market demands while exploring ESG-driven and non-superfluous designs. 2022 will be the year that we rebuild our sales funnel after almost two years of living with the pandemic,” he said.

UEM Sunrise recently unveiled a three-pronged strategy – Triage (prioritising issues that need immediate attention and expediting launches), Stabilise (a transformation of how the Company organises its people, process and portfolio) and Sustain (diversifying the income stream for sustained revenue).

At the same time, the Company will also be making aggressive strides in putting the digital and sustainability agenda at its forefront. The Company has started putting in the building blocks of revamping the product innovation and design rigour to imprint a strong product DNA that can meet and exceed the design needs and the spatial flexibility issues as demanded by the market.

Following the increase in the cost of building materials, specifically steel, concrete and cement, UEM Sunrise will be revamping its procurement strategy for better cost management, and to further its usage of tools such as Building Information Modelling to allow greater planning and visualization of the entire project during pre-construction.

The Company will continue to monitor the market to acquire strategically located landbanks particularly in the Central region for quick turnaround and new project pipelines. Efforts to divest non-strategic lands are also ongoing, in line with its landbanking portfolio rebalancing strategy.

UEM Sunrise’s unbilled sales stand at RM2.34 billion as of December 31, 2021.

(10 February 2022)