SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Malaysian property developer Hatten Land narrowed losses to RM30.7 million (S$9.9 million) for the half year ended Dec 31, 2021, from a net loss of RM42.4 million a year ago.
While revenue for the second quarter fell 67 per cent from RM9.7 million to RM3.2 million because of lower sales amid the pandemic, other income for the quarter went up by RM12 million, due mainly to higher overdue interest and forfeiture income charged to purchasers, management fees charged to third-party property management office and share of profit from a rental sharing scheme, the group said in a bourse filing on Sunday (Feb 13).
For the quarter ended Dec 31, 2021, net loss was reduced to RM15.3 million from RM27.1 million in the year-ago period.
The group's loss per share for the first half of 2022 stood at 1.86 sen. For the second quarter of the 2022 financial year, this translates to 0.92 sen.
Hatten Land, which has made public its ambitions to plant a flag in the metaverse, said in the financial update that it has commenced crypto-mining operations in January 2022 and is on track to meet its aim of having 2,500 crypto-mining rigs installed and operated within its properties this year.
The crypto-mining activities are expected to contribute positively to the net assets and financial performance of the group for the financial year ending June 30, 2022, it said.
This comes after the group said in December that it encountered a delay in the delivery of the rigs due to supply chain disruptions and the hold-up in deployment of technical personnel from Singapore to Melaka as a result of the tightening of Covid-19 control measures.
Hatten Land had previously announced that its wholly owned subsidiary had inked a memorandum of understanding with mainboard-listed SMI Vantage to jointly explore business opportunities in crypto mining.
The subsidiary, Hatten Technology, had also signed an agreement with Prakal, also known as EnjinStarter, to develop a token system that helps promote a digital economy in Melaka.
In terms of real estate, the group said it has a "substantial value" of unsold completed properties, with the estimated market value of its development properties standing at about RM1.15 billion as at June 30, 2021.
"We are cautiously optimistic of the sustained recovery of our business activities in the endemic phase as the group's properties are located within the prime and strategic locations in Melaka, and this has helped preserve the value of the group's property assets," Hatten Land said.
The group said its hospitality properties should benefit from more domestic tourism activities as interstate travel has been allowed by the Malaysian authorities.
Its new business initiatives centered on blockchain technology and the digital economy is also expected to add new revenue streams, it said.
Shares of Hatten Land ended on Friday down 0.2 cent, or 4 per cent, at 4.8 cents.
