KUALA LUMPUR: IJM Corp Bhd
’s Finsbury Circus development in the United Kingdom represents substantial potential value uplift for the group as it has a high gross development value (GDV) of some RM2.4bil.
According to MIDF Research, this materially enhances IJM’s international property investment portfolio.
IJM Corp also has a medium-term target to expand its investment property portfolio to RM2bil over five years.
This will be underpinned by carefully selected overseas assets that offer strategic locations, sustainability credentials and strong tenancy profiles, according to its management.
It was reported recently international law firm Simmons & Simmons LLP has signed a 20-year lease as the anchor tenant at IJM’s 25 Finsbury Circus, London property. Simmons & Simmons will occupy some 62% of the property, with an option to expand occupancy up to 80%.
“This long-term tenancy with a reputable global law firm highlights robust market confidence and tenant appeal for the property, affirming the management’s strategic intent to develop a high-quality, internationally diversified asset base with stable recurring income streams,” MIDF Research said.
The research house reiterated its “buy” recommendation with an unchanged target price of RM3.89 per share based upon its financial year 2026 forecast price to earnings ratio of 22 times which is plus one standard deviation above its seven-year mean.
“IJM Corp continues to display robust growth prospects, underpinned by its proactive international expansion strategy, particularly in the United Kingdom, and reinforced by high-quality tenancy commitments such as the recent long-term lease secured with Simmons & Simmons,” it said.
MIDF Research also maintained its existing earnings estimates, as the current projections have already factored in the positive contributions from this project in the United Kingdom.
For the third quarter financial year ended Dec 31, 2024, IJM Corp saw its net profit climb 12.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM113.3mil on the back of a 4.4% growth in revenue to RM1.54bil.
Cumulatively over the nine months up to December (9M25), however, earnings slid 6.9% y-o-y to RM274.4mil, in spite of a 7.2% increase in revenue to RM4.46bil.
On the lower 9M25 net profit, IJM Corp attributed it to unrealised foreign exchange (forex) losses of RM73.4mil during the period against forex gains of RM27mil in the corresponding period a year before.
Meanwhile, analysts believe that IJM Corp is set to deliver strong earnings growth in the financial year ending March 31, 2026 (FY26) to FY27, underpinned by a robust pipeline of industrial contracts.
In a recent report, UOB Kay Hian Research noted that the group had submitted two tenders for hyperscale data centres (DCs) with another four DC contracts on the horizon. The research house said the average contract value is around RM2bil totalling RM12bil across the six DCs.