Losses narrow at Aseana

27th Aug 2009 16:29

Vietnam and Malaysia focused property developer Aseana Properties saw revenue of $11,23m in the first half of 2009 from the completion of the Sandakan Harbour Square Phase 2A and the sale of i-ZEN@Kiara I units.The company has adopted new accounting standards so that revenue is now recorded on delivery of vacant possession to purchasers, as a result of which last year's accounts have been restated and thus show zero revenues for the first half.The group made an operating loss of $0.86m versus a loss of $4.51m a year earlier in what it described as a quiet first half.'There have not really been a lot of significant events since last November,' Monica Lai, chief financial officer of Ireka Development Management, Aseana's development manager, told Sharecast. 'Things picked up in April and we've been doing quite a bit in Vietnam on the approvals front,' Lai added.The group plans to pursue a cautious but opportunistic approach in the second half of the year as conditions stabilise in Vietnam and Malaysia.'Things have calmed down a bit,' Lai said. 'In the last few months people have been buying but you need to give them an incentive to buy.'With property prices still generally on a downward path the company has been spending some of its cash pile on share buy-backs, snapping up almost 15% of the company's shares, which are currently being held in Treasury.