KUALA LUMPUR (June 18): Mah Sing Group Bhd, which sold RM761 million worth of properties between January and April this year, expects sales to be better in the second half (2H) of 2015.

Group executive director for corporate and investment Datuk Steven Ng Poh Seng said real estate developer Mah Sing (fundamental: 2.8; valuation: 2.4) hoped stronger demand in the affordable housing segment would mitigate weaker sentiment in the property market.

"We recorded sales of RM761 million for the first four months of [financial year ending December 31, 2015 (FY15)] with RM560 million earned in 1QFY15," Ng told reporters after Mah Sing's annual general meeting here today.

According to him, Mah Sing's RM761 million property sales for the first four months made up only 22% of the RM3.43 billion achieved in FY14.

Ng said the latest figures reflected weak consumer sentiment in the property sector due to Malaysia's goods and services tax, weaker ringgit and low commodity prices.

"However, we have unbilled sales of RM5.1 billion as of March 31. We are hopeful that sales will pick up in the 2H," he said.

At 12.30pm today, Mah Sing shares rose two sen or 1.2% to settle at RM1.72 for a market value of RM4.13 billion.

The stock saw 344,100 shares transacted.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)