Lagenda to gain from high demand for landed houses
PETALING JAYA: Analysts are positive about Lagenda Properties Bhd ’s prospects, given the anticipated resilient demand for landed houses, which is supported by stable market performance and shifting buyer preferences favouring affordability.

Apex Securities in a report said: “We opine that landed homes, particularly priced in the RM300,000 to RM500,000 range, are preferred over high-rise condominiums.”

The property group posted a core net profit of RM42.7mil for the first quarter in the financial year 2024 (1Q24), up 8.6% year-on-year, driven by higher construction activities in certain property development projects.

“Despite the reported earnings being slightly below expectations, we made no changes to our earnings forecast as we reckon subsequent quarters performance will play catch up,” the brokerage firm noted.

Lagenda has launched over 500 units during 1Q24, according to Apex Securities.

Going forward, the group aims to launch over 8,000 units of affordable homes with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM1.9bil in the financial year 2024 (FY24).

“The move will be supported by the total land bank of 5,310 acres with a potential combined GDV of RM14.8bil in the pipeline, which will sustain developments over the next eight to 10 years,” the brokerage firm added.

Apex Securities has maintained a “hold” call on the stock with an unchanged target price (TP) of RM1.79.

The risks to its call include the economy’s sluggishness, inability to secure more land, rising construction costs beyond expectations and changes in housing, as well as property regulations.

Meanwhile, Phillip Capital in a note to clients said: “Lagenda’s 1Q24 result was in line with ours and consensus forecasts, representing 21% and 20% of both respective full-year estimates.”

However, the research house has trimmed the group’s 2024 to 2025 earnings by 1% to 2% after factoring in higher finance costs following the recently announced land acquisition in Kedah with an estimated RM2bil GDV.

Phillip Capital has also maintained a “buy” call on the group with a higher TP of RM2 from RM1.65 previously.

“We raised our revised net asset value (RNAV)-derived TP to RM2 after rolling forward our valuation horizon to 2025 estimates and reducing our RNAV discount to 20% from 25%,” it added.
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Analysts are positive about Lagenda Properties Bhd’s prospects, given the anticipated resilient demand for landed houses, which is supported by stable market performance and shifting buyer preferences favouring affordability.