SC Asset to boost recurring income via US venture

The firm is also negotiating with an Asian developer to set up a joint venture company for the development of residential projects in Thailand next year. The deal is expected to be completed in the last quarter of this year, chief corporate officer Attapol Sariddipuntawat said at a press conference last week. 
Currently, the company’s recurring income from its office buildings in Bangkok accounts for up to nine per cent of revenue. It is expected to reach 15 per cent in 2020 after the investment in the US, he said. 
The company will fund its investments through cash flows and the issuance of debentures up to Bt3 billion in the last quarter of the year, Attapol said. 
A portion of the proceeds from the debenture issue will be used to repay Bt800 million in outstanding debt that will expire before the end of the year, with the balance to be allocated for its investments in the US and Thailand next year.
After the debenture issue, its debt-to-equity ratio will not exceed 2:1 from the current level of 1.7:1, up from 1.3:1 in 2017, he said.
Meanwhile, the company will invest up to Bt100 million in a start-up as well as cooperate with others in research and development of innovative products, catering to shifts in customers’ lifestyle in line with its move to become a “living solutions provider” firm. 
SC Able Co Ltd, the company’s subsidiary, has invested in a start-up application firm, Fixzy, chief executive officer Nuttaphong Kunakornwong told the press briefing. 
“We will allocate 1,500-square-metre space on the 14th floor of Shinawatra Tower Three as a co-working centre for application development and Big-Data management, aimed at creating innovative products to meet the demands of homebuyers, Nuttaphong said, adding that it will open in the first half of next year.
He added that the investment and research and development in innovation and technology would change SC’s business landscape to ensure sustainable growth. “SC will become a Living Solutions Provider to blend innovations with our residential projects in response to the evolving lifestyle of residents now and in the future. 
We are always ready to rethink our business plans and learn to catch up with the changing behaviours of our customers,” he said.
He added that the company continued to maintain its business goal of generating total revenue of Bt20 billion in 2020. The company is targeting total revenue of Bt17 billion at the end of this year. 
It reported total revenue of Bt6.65 billion and Bt704 million net profit in the first half of this year, up 44 per cent and 107 per cent respectively from the same period of last year.
In order to achieve Bt17 billion revenue this year, the company plans to launch 15 new residential projects worth Bt15 billion in the second half of this year, 10 of them will be single detached houses priced at between Bt3 million and Bt60 million per unit; two townhomes – one of them a home-office and the other called V Compound, which combines single detached house and townhome; and a condominium project under the brand Chamber at On Nut.
When combined with the 15 new residential projects and 36 existing projects, the 51 residential projects will yield sales worth Bt47 billion, while the company has total backlog – ready for sale and awaiting transfer to customers – worth Bt10.73 billion when construction is complete. 
About 45 per cent of the total will be transferred to the customers in the rest of this year, he said.