2014 presales signaled continued market share gains
Presales of the top seven property developers declined by 18% YoY to Bt158bn in 2014, which was better than the industry presales reduction of 22% YoY. The decline was seen in condominiums (down 40% YoY) while presales from landed property continued to rise by 10% YoY versus the industry contraction of 12%. This suggests in our view that the listed developers continued to gain market share from non-listed ones.
2014 recap
2014 pre-ex net income grew by 17% YoY and this was driven by stronger revenue and improvement in operating margins. The revenue growth was seen in both landed property and condominiums, from continued growth in landed property presales and the schedule of condo completions. Meanwhile, the smaller condo launches together with the efforts of a few property companies also resulted in an increase in operating margin by 150bp YoY to 19% in 2014. Note that better cost control is a key focus on earnings growth this year.
February presales started to pick up
Our presales survey suggests that presales in February of the top seven developers started to pick up both MoM and YoY. While condo presales could be distorted by the launch data, landed property presales rose by 27% YoY and 22% MoM. LH and QH are the only two companies that posted a slight decline YoY in 2M15 presales, while AP and PS achieved impressive growth of over 60% YoY in 2M15 landed property presales.
More launches in 2015; active condo launches in 2Q and 4Q
Many developers have postponed condo launches in 4Q14 to this year. Based on our survey, we expect sequential growth in quarterly launches this year. Condo launches should be concentrated more in 2Q15 and 4Q15. AP, SIRI and SPALI should have more condo launches to boost presales in 2Q15, and good expected presales should support their share prices in the near term.
2015 a year of revenue growth, with less visibility for 2016
We believe 2015 should see strong revenue growth, supported by stronger condo revenue which we expect to account for 50% of total revenue in 2015. The better presales momentum on landed property by some companies would provide upside risk on 2015 earnings. We like the companies with good presales momentum and solid growth. SPALI, PS and LPN remain our picks for the sector.