SOMLUCK SRIMALEE

THE NATION August 15, 2013 1:00 am

QUALITY HOUSES plans to launch 11 new residential projects worth Bt6.4 billion to boost its presales to Bt20 billion and revenue to Bt18 billion this year.

Five of the projects will be detached houses and townhouses under the Gusto brand priced at up to Bt5 million per unit, three will be under The Trust brand with prices ranging from Bt5 million to Bt10 million, and two under the Casa brand in Bangkok and Chiang Mai. The last one will be under the Quality House brand and priced at up to Bt7 million per unit.

We focus on the middle market because we see strong demand there, chief executive officer Rutt Phanijphand said.

Currently, 45 per cent of its total presale value is from the middle market, where prices range between Bt3 million and per unit. The economy market, with homes costing no more than Bt3 million, accounts for 29 per cent, while about 26 per cent is from the luxury market with prices over .

Rutt said the company targets at least 80 per cent of its portfolio next year comprising homes priced from Bt3 million to Bt7 million, as it sees strong demand in this segment.

Quality Houses also plans to launch at least 15 new projects worth a total of Bt13.85 billion next year. It spent Bt2 billion in the first half of this year to buy land for development in 2014. It has an additional budget of Bt1 billion for land purchase in the current half for next year’s projects.

We believe that the property market will continue to grow in the second half of this year but more slowly than in the first half, in line with the slower economy and the banks being more restrictive with mortgages, he said.

The company is considering issuing debentures in the final quarter of this year or next year for business expansion as its earlier debenture issue worth Bt4 billion will expire in the first half of 2014.

The firm recorded revenue of Bt10.09 billion, up 89 per cent, and net profit of Bt1.69 billion, up 177 per cent, in the first half over the same period of last year.

Up to 90 per cent of its revenue comes from developing homes for sale, Bt590 million from rental income, and Bt467 million from investment income.

Our rental income increased by about 30 per cent in the first quarter compared with the same period last year thanks to the rising number of tourists and increasing demand for office space, Rutt said.

Currently, the company’s office buildings show occupancy rates of about 90 per cent on average, as does its hotel business.

Quality Houses owns several office buildings including Q House Sathorn and Q House Langsuan. It also owns hotels and serviced apartments under the Centre Point brand.