RML Foresees A Slowdown in Real Estate Market in 2021, But Is Confident to Secure the Helm as Luxury Market Leader

Monday 01 March 2021 14:35
RML Foresees A Slowdown in Real Estate Market in 2021, But Is Confident to Secure the Helm as Luxury Market Leader, Highlighting Rebranding Strategy and Focusing on Online Sales via O2O Method

RML anticipates a slowdown in real estate market in 2021, but it is confident to secure a leading position in the luxury property market. The company is implementing rebranding strategy to target the new-generation customers and focusing on online sales through O2O method to stimulate demand. It also plans to inaugurate a new project in soi Sukhumvit 38. In 2020, revenue performance achieved Baht 3,171.5 million, mostly acquired from luxury condo the Diplomat 39, the Lofts Asoke and the Lofts Silom.

Mr. Korn Narongdej, Chief Executive Officer at Raimon Land Public Company Limited (RML), said, "Eventhough a prospect of the property market in 2021 is enduring negative factors from the COVID-19 pandemic which decelerates the global economy, but the company believes that we can continue to maintain a leading position in developing the luxury property market."

The business plan this year includes a rebranding strategy to uplift the corporate image to enable modern vibe and approachability in accordance with Raimon Land's new vision. The revised vision is to expand the scope of target customers and engage new-generation customers as well as any generations with affordability for the upper market. The company is confident that the rebranding will lead to a new perspective in the operational process, through improvement of property quality and service. Modern innovation will be incorporated in the operation in order to promote excellent experience for customers.

The company also plans a sales promotion with exclusive rates and online sales tactic via the O2O (Online to Offline) strategy. Customers can visit the luxury property virtually through online system before physically visiting the property, which could help stimulate purchase appetite and the system also has the ability to approach the customers directly. This effort is expected to push additional sales of the properties.

In addition, the company plans to inaugurate one luxury condominium project at Soi Sukhumvit 38. This property is the third joint investment between RML and Tokyo Tatemono. While the Grade-A Office Buildings that are under construction include One City Centre - "OCC" The office project is a joint investment with proportion of 60:40 between RML and Mitsubishi Estate Asia.

For the operational result in 2020, the company achieved total revenue of Baht 3,171.5 million, down 12.4 percent or Baht 448.9 million from the previous year which recorded total revenue of Baht 3,620.4 million. Presales achieved Baht 3,045.5 million, about 4.7% increase or additional Baht 136.5 million compared to last year which recorded presales of Baht 2,909 million. The presales was a result of continual sales promotion with special offers for existing customers in Thailand, in accordance with a policy to focus on revenue generation and maintenance of stable cash flow. In the past, the Company tried to release the available units of the ready-to-move-in properties such as The River, The Diplomat 39, The Diplomat Sathorn, The Lofts Asoke and the Lofts Silom.

For the operational result during Q4/2020, the company achieved revenue of Baht 666.1 million, up 33.5% or around Baht 167.1 million from the previous year which achieved revenue of Baht 499 million. Presales achieved Baht 588.2 million, up 13.6% or Baht 70.5 million from the previous year which achieved presales of Baht 517.7 million. The achievement was a result of sales promotion from The Lofts Silom which distributed to both domestic and international customers.

In 2020, the company recorded a net loss of Baht 724.4 million per operation of the financial statements, down Baht 784.3 million compared to a net profit of Baht 59.9 million last year. A net loss per share was Baht 0.172 per share, which was a higher loss than normality due to a record total net loss of Baht 250.2 million from selling of land in Sukhumvit Soi 19. This particular piece of land was under EIA approval process to be a 4-star hotel, but due to inconducive economic condition and the impact from COVID-19, global tourism industry has been in a standstill and it is forecast to remain unrecovered in the next 2-3 years. Therefore, the company has decided to sell out the beforementioned piece of land to inject cash flow. However, if this special item is excluded, the company will have a net loss of Baht 474.2 million.

The company has backlog as on 31 December 2020 of Baht 6,565.2 million with a total of 7 properties such as Tait12 (39.2%), The Estelle Phrom Phong (34.0%), The Lofts Silom (15.6%), The Lofts Ratchathewi (9.8%), and combination of The Lofts Asoke, The River and Unixx South Pattaya (1.4%).

Source: Work Link da Agency