I-Berhad (4251) reported a 143% jump in profit before tax (PBT) to RM42.8 million for FY2024, driven by a record-breaking performance in its Leisure & Hospitality segment. The results confirm the company’s successful “extracting value from the land” strategy shift that transformed the Group from a traditional property developer to one that integrates asset optimisation to maximise long-term recurring income from its investment properties.

With the shift, the Leisure & Hospitality segment emerged as the group’s top earnings driver, delivering a 132% increase in PBT to RM20.9 million, more than doubled from RM9.0 million in FY2023. This surge was fueled by higher hotel occupancy contributed by 5-star DoubleTree by Hilton i-City, Wyndham Suites KLCC and Wyndham Garden i-City (reflagging Best Western i-City).

I-Berhad’s strong leisure and hospitality performance was boosted by:

1. To meet demand, I-Berhad expanded the number of suites for Wyndham Suites KLCC’s by December 2024, driven by a three-fold surge in bookings, particularly from business travellers from China, Korea, Singapore, Thailand and the United States. The expansion was further supported by the launch of WynSports, a first-of-its-kind 24,500 sq ft hotel play space.

2. Strengthening of i-City, Malaysia No. 1 Digital City’s international positioning by replacing a 214-room hotel, Best Western i-City with Wyndham Garden i-City.

3. New attractions at i-City’s CNN Travel-acclaimed City of Digital Lights, such as MySports, Virtual World, and Kidz World, have significantly increased visitor footfall.

“The explosive growth in our Leisure & Hospitality segment underscores our strategy of extracting long-term value from our assets, rather than relying solely on one-off property sales.”

“With 5-million annual footfall in i-City, the Group sees further expansion opportunities in the Leisure & Hospitality segment, especially in the family vacation space,” said I-Berhad chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong.

While hospitality and leisure fueled the biggest gains, I-Berhad’s Property Investment segment also showed strong performance, with PBT rising 32% to RM12.7 million (FY2023: RM9.6 million).

The company’s "One Shah Alam One Destination" initiative—which enhances commercial activity in i-City—helped maintain over 90% occupancy at Central i-City Mall and high leasing demand at Mercu Maybank premium corporate tower, reinforcing I-Berhad’s commitment to recurring income streams.

On the property development front, sales momentum remained solid with 521% increase in profit before tax to RM11.7 million. The BeCentral Tower 1 project achieved over 60% sales, while total unbilled sales stood at RM95.2 million as of December 31, 2024, providing future earnings visibility into 2025.

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