Johor Land shares surge on 9MP potential

Johor Land shares surge on 9MP potential

By IZWAN IDRIS

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in Johor Land Bhd (JLand) surged to a two-year high yesterday as punters continue to chase property laggards with huge land banks in Johor.

The stock added 6.5 sen, or 6.7%, to RM1.04 yesterday, extending its winning streak to a third day in a row. The counter was up 20% on Tuesday.

The sharp rise in the share price of JLand, a subsidiary of state-owned Johor Corp, so far this week mirrors the stellar gains posted by another Johor state-linked property company, Tebrau Teguh Bhd.

Shares in Tebrau, which is 42%-owned by Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor Sdn Bhd, have gained 85% since the start of this month to 64.5 sen yesterday.

“People are expecting state-related firms to be prime beneficiaries from the plans to develop southern Johor into a thriving economic area under the Ninth Malaysia Plan,'' a dealer said.

JLand has some 3,000 acres of development land in the state, including a prime residential area of 1,412 acres, Bandar Datuk Onn, located just 12 km from the Johor Baru city centre.

The Bandar Datuk Onn township project, estimated to have a gross development value of RM3.6bil over the next 10 years, is developed on land acquired from parent company Johor Corp in December last year.

Its other land banks are near the Senai airport and Pasir Gudang port.

Analysts expect the RM12bil Southern Johor Economic Region masterplan, likely to be out soon, would boost economic activities in the corridor and create higher demand for properties in the surrounding areas.

JLand posted a net profit of RM13.4mil, or 12.17 sen per share, on revenue of RM35.2mil in the first quarter ended March 31. Its net tangible assets stood at RM3.02 per share as at end-March.

In its financial year ended Dec 31, 2005, the company made a net profit of RM11.7mil, or 9.64 sen per share, on sales of RM88.8mil.