Its affordable housing projects are located in four key townships across Selangor — Kwasa Damansara, City of Elmina, Bandar Rimbayu and Bukit Jelutong — under the state government’s Rumah Idaman initiative. The size of the homes ranges from 1,000 to 1,120 sq ft while the selling prices are between RM250,000 and RM290,000.

To date, the 1,260-unit Idaman Bukit Jelutong project, with an estimated GDV of RM304 million, has been completed and had achieved a take-up rate of 98% as at end-September 2025.

In an interview with The Edge, Gagasan Nadi Cergas founder and managing director Datuk Wan Azman Wan Kamal says the government policy on affordable housing, including the requirement for developers to allocate 20% of their projects to affordable homes, has significantly expanded the group’s portfolio.

“We are working closely with the Selangor government on the Rumah Idaman initiative, delivering partially furnished three or four-bedroom homes,” explains Wan Azman, who owns a 64.69% stake in the company and has nearly 40 years of experience in the property development and construction industry.

Wan Azman, who had founded the company in 1999, says it has increasingly partnered developers to fulfil its affordable housing obligations, creating a win-win situation.

“Many developers who own land earmarked for affordable housing approach us to help them deliver on their commitments to the state government,” he adds.

While Gagasan Nadi Cergas is currently focused on the Selangor affordable housing market, Wan Azman says it is open to exploring opportunities in other states such as Penang and Johor. However, he rules out the possibility of undertaking landed affordable housing due to compressed margins.

“It is not economical for us to do landed affordable housing. High-rise projects allow us to achieve a density of 120 units per acre,” he says.

The company also has several projects in Kuala Lumpur and Ulu Yam, Selangor, with a combined estimated GDV of more than RM700 million that are scheduled to be launched later.

As at end-September 2025, the group’s property development division had recorded unbilled sales of RM203 million, which are expected to be recognised as revenue over the next three years.

Addressing concerns about the property glut, Wan Azman maintains that this is not an issue for the company because of its focus on prime locations.

“Overhang does happen, but not in the areas that we develop. For example, our Kwasa Damansara projects are within walking distance of MRT stations,” he explains.

Unlike its peers, Gagasan Nadi Cergas follows an asset-light model in which it partners landowners in property projects instead of acquiring land outright. The company owns 128.4 acres and an additional 172.6 acres with development rights.

Listed on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market, Gagasan Nadi Cergas is targeting a transfer to the Main Market this year.

“With higher earnings, we are aiming to apply for a listing transfer upon completing our audit,” Wan Azman says.

From its listing price of 30 sen apiece, the stock was up 36.7% last Thursday. It ended trading at 41 sen, giving the company a market capitalisation of RM308.73 million.

Gagasan Nadi Cergas is trading at a price-earnings ratio of 16.2 times, substantially higher than that of its peers, such as LBS Bina Group Bhd (KL:LBS) (6.5 times), WCT Holdings Bhd (KL:WCT) (9.4 times) and Paramount Corp Bhd (KL:PARAMON) (5.6 times), according to AskEdge data.

For the first nine months ended Sept 30, 2025 (9MFY2025), Gagasan Nadi Cergas’ net profit tripled to RM19.14 million from RM5.82 million a year ago, driven by higher recognition of property development projects and improved cost efficiency in construction operations. Property development accounted for about 70% of profit before tax during the period.

In FY2024, net earnings more than doubled to RM5.87 million from RM2.43 million a year ago.

Moving forward, the group’s profitability will be supported by an external construction order book of RM221 million as well as internally generated construction works from its own property development activities.

As a Grade G7 contractor, Gagasan Nadi Cergas is eligible to bid for projects of unlimited value, including bumiputera-allocated projects. Its current tender book exceeds RM1 billion.

“Usually, the chances of getting design-and-build projects are higher than conventional tenders because only a select few contractors are invited to submit bids due to the high requirements.

“For example, for our PFI (private finance initiative) projects, we need to have a paid-up capital of RM20 million to RM30 million, with financing capped at 80% while the balance 20% is funded through equity. We are currently handling a few PFI projects, to be specific, student accommodation as well as government projects like hospitals and police stations,” Wan Azman says.

Among its completed projects in recent years are Masjid Al-Sultan Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur and the Serdang Hospital Cardiology Centre in Selangor.

The group remains unfazed by rising raw material prices, citing flexibility in pricing adjustments. The prices of some housing units have been revised upwards to RM290,000 from RM250,000.

“Building material prices are forecast to increase 2% to 3% this year because of higher transport costs and other factors. The state government has been very understanding, allowing us to increase our prices for slightly larger units as they recognise the need for developers to remain viable under the affordable housing programme,” Wan Azman says.

To strengthen its concession and facility management segment, Wan Azman says the group is looking for more merger and acquisition (M&A) opportunities following its recent acquisition of student hostel concessionaire Konsortium PAE Sepakat Sdn Bhd for RM127.3 million.

This acquisition grants the group a 10-year facility management concession for student hostels across seven polytechnic campuses in the country, serving 10,000 students.

In addition, the group holds two ongoing 20-year concessions to maintain the student hostels of International Islamic University Malaysia in Kuantan and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka until 2034 and 2037 respectively. These concessions are expected to generate more than RM500 million in receivables over the remaining concession period. This is on top of a RM174 million order book to be recognised as revenue when services are delivered on a monthly basis, says Wan Azman.

“There is a very high degree of certainty in the concession segment as we receive fixed income from the government every month. Whether or not there are students staying in the hostels, it still pays us the same amount,” he adds.

Meanwhile, the group’s utilities segment operates 30-year concessions until 2051 to 2052 to distribute electricity and supply chilled water to the Datum Jelatek Mall in Kuala Lumpur.

In view of its strong earnings outlook, the group plans to “reactivate” its dividend payout in 4QFY2025 with a targeted dividend policy of up to 30%, following its last dividend payment in FY2020.

As at end-September 2025, Gagasan Nadi Cergas was in a net cash position of RM20.64 million given cash and bank balances of RM148.96 million against RM128.32 million in borrowings.