The property market in Greater Bangkok is expected to remain in good shape, with SET-listed Pruksa Real Estate Plc (PS) revising up its growth forecast to 15% growth this year from 10% projected in May.
President and chief executive Thongma Vijitpongpun said the Greater Bangkok property sector was expected to grow to 338 billion baht this year, higher than the earlier 323 billion baht forecast and against 294 billion recorded in 2014.
He said demand for property in Greater Bangkok had been barely affected by the fragile economy, as the population in the area continues to increase.
The company's market research showed overall residential presales in Greater Bangkok totalled 179 billion baht in the first half, up 31% year-on-year.
The greater volume was mainly in the middle- and high-end segments.
According to Mr Thongma, Pruksa has a bank rejection rate of only 5% due to the pre-approval scheme, down from 7% last year.
Pruksa is sticking to a full-year presales target of 47 billion baht, up 20.2% from 39 billion last year, with revenue increasing 10.1% to 47 billion baht.
In the first half, Pruksa posted 23.9 billion baht in presales, up 33.5% year-on-year, with single houses and townhouses accounting for 80%. Revenue rose 15.7% to 21.8 billion baht, with net profit for the period increasing 4.2% to 3.06 billion baht.
Pruksa launched 27 new projects worth a combined 25 billion baht in the first six months.
Chief operating officer Lersuk Chuladesa said higher presales in the first half show purchasing power remained strong among the middle segment.
The company had a sales backlog of 36.4 billion baht, as of June.
Of that amount, 20.5 billion baht will be realised in revenue this year.
As of June, Pruksa had 181 active projects worth 80.7 billion baht, with townhouses and single houses accounting for 78.5% or 63.4 billion baht and condominiums representing the remaining 21.5% or 17.3 billion baht.
Mr Lersuk said the company's profit margin was estimated to fall from 15.2% last year to 13.4% this year because of higher land prices.
Pruksa is also committed to launching a combined 70-75 residential projects worth 55-61 billion baht this year.
PS shares closed unchanged on Friday on the SET at 24.10 baht, up 30 satang, in trade worth 29.1 million baht.