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Published on January 10, 2008

President and CEO Thongma Vijitpongpun said the company had targeted revenue of Bt14 billion this year. The projection factors in a 3-5-per-cent increase in housing prices following increased land valuations and rising costs of construction raw materials.

At present, Preuksa Real Estate is ranked fifth in terms of revenue, behind Land and Houses, Sansiri, Bangkok Land and Quality Houses.

Thongma said the company estimated its sales would reach Bt20 billion this year, of which about Bt14 billion would be booked this year - up 55 per cent from 2007, when sales reached Bt13.6 billion for revenue of Bt9.05 billion. In last year's first three quarters, Preuksa recorded a net profit of Bt803.98 million.

He said this year's revenue would come from domestic projects alone.

Preuksa Real Estate was among those companies witnessing strong business growth after the 1997 financial crisis. From registered capital of only Bt50 million in 1993, it now has capital of Bt2.18 billion.

It has also expanded recently into Vietnam and India, with the aim of launching projects worth at least Bt300 million in each country by mid-year. The foreign operations will begin generating revenue next year, Thongma said.

"If our sales and revenue meet our targets, we may be ranked second in the property market this year. But that depends on whether the revenue targets of other property firms are higher than ours," he said.

The company will spend about Bt9 billion this year to develop its planned 40 residential projects. Of that, Bt2.8 billion will be spent on buying land for the projects and the remaining Bt6.2 billion on construction and infrastructure. The investment budget will come from Preuksa's cash flow.

Of the 40 new residential projects, 21 will be townhouses, 11 will be single-detached houses and the remaining eight, condominiums. They will target buyers from the lower- to the upper-income groups, with unit prices ranging from less than Bt1 million to Bt5 million.

Thongma acknowledged the fall in consumers' purchasing power, higher cost of living from rises in consumer-goods prices and expectations that housing prices would rise 3-5 per cent this year following higher land valuations and increases in the cost of construction raw materials.

However, Preuksa Real Estate believes housing demand will continue to grow in the price range of from less than Bt1 million to Bt5 million. A residence is an essential asset for people when they begin work, he said.

"We believe our products will receive positive feedback from our customers, especially when we're offering a variety of products to suit different lifestyles, including single-detached houses, townhouses and condominiums. That is why we believe our sales will reach the target despite an economic environment of only slight growth this year," Thongma said.

However, once the country's political picture becomes clearer and a new government is formed, that should create strong confidence among investors and home-buyers, he said.

At present, Preuksa Real Estate has 11 brands focused on different markets.

Passorn targets the middle- to high-income market for single-detached houses at prices of Bt2.1 million to Bt5 million per unit. The Plant also focuses on the middle- to high-income market for single-detached houses, but with different and stylish designs. And Preuksa Village offers single-detached houses for middle- to low-income buyers at prices between Bt1.8 million and Bt2 million.

The Plant is also a townhouse brand, offering units priced between Bt2 million and Bt3.5 million. The Connect, Preuksa Ville and Baan Preuksa are the company's other townhouse brands, offering units ranging from Bt1.4 million to Bt2 million, Bt1 million to Bt1.4 million and Bt600,000 to Bt1.2 million, respectively.

Ivy, The Tree, The Seed, and City Ville Condo are Preuksa's condominium brands, offering units priced from Bt1.5 million to Bt5 million, Bt1 million to Bt1.5 million, Bt800,000 to Bt1.4 million and Bt500,000 to Bt800,000, respectively.

 Somluck Srimalee

 The Nation