$PLENITU / 5075 (PLENITUDE BERHAD) just announced their latest AR FY2023 yesterday,

here's the summary:

Financial highlight

•FY2023 results: Revenue of RM361.7 million, PBT of RM58.6 million, an improvement over FY2022 (RM272.7 million revenue, RM42.3 million PBT).
•Property development is the primary driver, contributing 60% of total revenue.
•PBT increased by 39% due to strong revenue from property sales and higher hotel occupancy rates and room rates.
•Total costs and expenses before finance costs rose to RM132.2 million in FY2023 from RM95.9 million in the previous year due to business growth, including new hotel openings in 2022 (Ascott Gurney Penang Hotel and Travelodge Honmachi Osaka Hotel).
•Plenitude Berhad’s market will sustain its growth growth due to low unemployment, increased tourist arrivals, and higher property transactions.
•Challenges for Plenitude Berhad are from weaker global growth, geopolitical tensions, financial market volatility, and supply chain disruptions.


Property development segment

•This segment managed to conclude RM314.7 million in sales and posted a revenue of RM219.0 million as compared to RM220.6 million in the preceding financial year.
•PBT of RM75.3 million, a decreased from RM81.8 million in FY2022.
•The majority of the revenue in FY2023, amounting to 55%, came from Taman Desa Tebrau in Johor Bahru, Johor.


Hotel Segment

•Revenue increased threefold from RM47.5 million to RM136.9 million, mainly to higher occupancy and room rates.
•Travelodge Honmachi Osaka, a 138-room hotel, started operations on 28 September 2022. It contributed 6% to the total hotel division revenue during the year.
•Plenitude's hotel revenue was distributed evenly among key cities in West Malaysia and their properties in Seoul, South Korea, and Osaka, Japan. In particular, the four hotels in Penang accounted for 40% of the Group's hotel revenue.


Investment property segment and others

•Investments in property generated rental income from various assets including the Gurney Walk, which was officially opened on 1 March 2022. It contributed RM2.5 million to the group, a big increase from FY2022's RM0.4 million.
•Other lease rental income reported in FY2023: rental income of RM4.0 million and operating profit of RM2.9 million versus RM3.6 million and RM2.5 million respectively in FY2022.


Financial Position

•Total assets as at the end of FY2023 stood at RM2.27 billion whilst total equity attributable to owners of the Company stood at RM1.62 billion, translating to Net Assets per Share of RM4.25.
•An increase compared to the previous year, where the total assets in FY2022 was RM2.20 billion and total equity attributable to owners of the Company stood at RM1.59 billion with Net Assets per Share of RM4.16.


Future Outlook

•With the challenging global environment, the Malaysian economy is projected to expand close to the lower end of the 4.0% to 5.0% range in 2023.
•The Group is optimistic about the property sector due to positive factors like the revival of major infrastructure projects, the potential review of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) program, the High-Speed Rail (HSR) project, and a stable interest rate outlook.
•However, the group is cautious about the possibility of interest rate increases towards the end of the year. In terms of property investment trends, they anticipate a focus on affordability, sustainability, technology integration, and government initiatives.
•The Group’s residential launches are on track with 7 new launches totaling RM713.2 million of gross development value in the pipeline, to cater to current demand for the upcoming financial year 2024.
•For 2023/2024, the government's target is to attract 15 million tourists. Hotels are expecting a better year with strong tourist arrivals and a healthy volume of events.


From a technical point of view, Plenitude Berhad's stock has exhibited a market return of 14.9% over the past year, accompanied by a Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.4x and a dividend payout of 2.8%. It's interesting that the increase in Plenitude Berhad's share prices matches its performance in 2023. With the company looking promising, could its stock price also go up in the next year?