DUBBED as the most ambitious project of its kind in Kuching, the La Promenade in Kota Samarahan, Sarawak has made quite a name for itself and its developer, Hock Seng Lee Construction (HSL Construction).
Being the subsidiary to HSL Bhd, HSL Construction has a few projects under its belt such as Samariang Aman 2 – Oceania, Highfields, The Leaf, Vista Industrial Park and more.
However, the commercial and residential property with a gross development value of RM2 bil (at the time), La Promenade was one of HSL Construction’s projects that made the company shine.
In a FocusM article issue January 10-16, 2015, HSL corporate affairs director Sonja Gan describes the high-end residential to be catered to those who seek the convenience of modern living in a safe and exclusive environment.
Surely enough, La Promenade won the ‘Master Planning’ category in the Malaysia Landscape Architecture Awards in 2018.
The 200-acre development then bagged a double-win at the Sheda Excellence Awards 2019 for the ‘Masterplan’ and the best in ‘Landed Residential’ categories.
“La Promenade offers a total lifestyle concept – you can live, work and play in one destination. Shops are at your doorstep and there are recreational facilities for residents to enjoy. There will be greenery, walkways and a beautiful lake to add to the serenity of the surroundings,” HSL executive director Simon Lau Kiing Kang said in a Borneo Post news article on Jan 21, 2019.
But that’s not the only development by HSL that caught the media’s attention. In a news article by StarMetro on Sept 22, 2018, it was said that HSL was aiming for the Green Building Index (GBI) certification for its new headquarters (HSL Tower), making it the first privately built GBI office in Sarawak.
With the GBI certification, HSL Tower was estimated to be 20% more energy efficient, which might have helped the company maintain strong annual financial results.
Even before the headquarters finished construction, HSL Bhd recorded a 45% surge in its revenue to RM610 mil for the end of its financial year ended Dec 31, 2018 (FY18), against FY17’s RM420 mil.
Additionally, it’s net profit in FY18 rose to RM53.7 mil from the previous year’s RM47.6 mil.
“Project procurement is undertaken in line with our prudent project management strategies, taking due consideration of the capacity, capabilities and competitive advantages of the group,” HSL said according to a news article by New Sarawak Tribune on 27 Feb, 2019.
In its first quarter ended Mar 31, 2019 (1Q19) results, HSL revenue increased 11% to RM146.7 mil compared to RM131.7 mil in 1Q18, with 86% of it attributed to the construction segment.
Its earnings in 1Q19 stood at RM18.7 mil compared to RM18.5 mil in the previous year, packing a record order book of RM3.3 bil with some RM2.5 bil worth of projects unbilled.
From another Borneo Post article, it was reported that HSL had 18 ongoing contracts at the time after adding about RM480 mil for works in 2019, including new property development launches.
The article also noted that the group secured the Batang Paloh Bridge project in Mukah worth RM299 mil through an open tender exercise from the Sarawak government earlier in 2019.
“The contract was under Package 3 of the Rm11 bil allocation for the state’s coastal road upgrading, secondary trunk road network and water supply projects,” the article said.
“The project was bagged shortly after HSL won RM54.3 mil worth of contracts from Sarawak Energy Bhd for the infrastructure works for the Balingian coal-fired power plant.”
Additionally, HSL group managing director Paul Yu Chee Hoe revealed that the group had RM340 million worth of property development projects ongoing and plans to launch some additional RM100 mil worth of new projects in 2019.
The group’s growth streak ended in its second quarter ended June 30, 2020 (2Q20) when it announced a revenue of RM83 mil against last year’s RM175.4 mil and earnings of RM3.9 mil versus 2Q19’s RM16.4 mil.
According to Borneo Post, the lower figures were attributed to Covid-19.
It was reported that the construction segment contributed RM74 mil (89%) of the total revenue while the property development segment only had RM9 mil.
As of 7.10pm yesterday, HSL Bhd’s share price increased 2.38% to 86 sen with a market capitalisation of RM501 mil. – Sept 5, 2020
