Township developer LBS Bina Group Bhd has raised its sales target to RM1.6 billion this year because of its steady performance.

“We have increased our sales target for FY2020 to RM1.6 billion compared with RM1.5 billion in FY2019,” LBS group managing director Tan Sri Lim Hock San said in a media briefing on Jan 6.

“We exceeded our sales target of RM1.5 billion by achieving RM1.63 billion last year. Thus, we are confident that we will hit our new target and that our products will continue to perform well this year.”

Lim said the group plans to launch 18 properties with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM2.32 billion in FY2020. “The projects, which will be concentrated in the central region, are predominantly new phases of ongoing developments, including the KITA @ Cybersouth township (GDV: RM1.04 billion), LBS Alam Perdana township (GDV: RM699 million) and Midhills 2 @ Genting Permai (GDV: RM421 million).”

Other upcoming projects to be unveiled in 2020 include 1-storey link houses in Bandar Putera Indah in Batu Pahat (GDV: RM69.6 million), semi-detached units and 2-storey terraced houses in Cameron Golden Hills in Cameron Highlands (GDV: RM48.9 million) and affordable 1-storey houses in Taman Kinding Flora @ Chemor, Perak (GDV: RM38.8 million).

Its ongoing projects were worth RM4.5 billion as at Dec 31, 2019, with RM982 million yet to be sold. Last year, the group launched 11 projects with a GDV of RM1.82 billion in five locations. Sales secured were mainly from projects in the central region, with the KITA @ Cybersouth and LBS Alam Perdana townships being the main sales contributors.

Lim acknowledged the market challenges. “LBS is sustaining well amid a challenging economic and property market environment. In general, we foresee the market to be more positive this year, [with factors] such as the increase in palm oil prices and lower interest rates. Moderating housing sentiment and tightening lending criteria will continue this year.

“We managed to secure a compound annual growth rate of 20.37% for the past five years as a result of our people-focused approach, and our wider adoption of Industrialised Building System and design optimisation,” he added.

The group has a land bank of 3,622 acres with a total GDV of RM33 billion. “We currently have land in the Klang Valley, Pahang, Johor and Kota Kinabalu [to name a few] and we are open to acquiring if we see a good opportunity.

“For future acquisitions, we may look at joint ventures. We do have good cash flow [to accommodate this] due to our good sales performance,” Lim explained.

“We will continue to think out of the box in order to appeal to the needs of modern homebuyers. We differentiate ourselves through placemaking and curating spaces.”