KUALA LUMPUR (June 27): Berjaya Land Bhd, which is controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, wrapped up its financial year ended April 30, 2018 (FY18) with another quarter of net loss, due mainly to unfavourable foreign exchange rates, and lower profit contribution from its number forecast operator business.

In a filing with the stock exchange today, Berjaya Land announced a net loss of RM92.15 million for its fourth quarter (4QFY18), compared with a net profit of RM88.57 million in the same quarter last year. This resulted in a loss per share of 1.85 sen, versus an earnings per share of 1.78 sen a year ago.

Quarterly revenue fell 6% year-on-year to RM1.585 billion from RM1.676 billion.

Berjaya Land said it made lower operating profit during the quarter due to unfavourable foreign exchange translation effect as a result of the stronger ringgit, besides higher prize payout that impacted profit contribution from Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

The effects of these were partially mitigated by the higher earnings from its property development business segment, thanks to effective cost reduction measures, and improved profit margin from the sales of used cars by H.R. Owen Plc. There was also a recognition of non-cash finance income from the measurement of financial assets at fair value, it said.

For the full year, Berjaya Land fell into the red with a net loss of RM189.53 million, versus a net profit of RM294.74 million in FY17, though revenue only fell marginally to RM6.365 billion from RM6.371 billion.

“In spite of the comparable revenue, the group registered a significantly lower pre-tax profit for the current year under review, mainly due to impairment made on certain available-for-sale investments, assets held for sale and property, plant and equipment amounting to approximately RM223.8 million,” said the group.

There was also a lower share of profits from its associated companies. It noted Berjaya Kyoto Development (S) Pte Ltd sold lower number of units at its Four Season Residences during the year.

In addition, Berjaya Land had also recognised a one-off gain in FY17 on settlement for surrendering certain assets and lease interest by a subsidiary to the relevant authorities, which amounted to RM184.6 million.

Going forward, the group expects the interim tax holiday following the zero rating of the goods and services tax (GST) to augur well for the group, especially its hotels and resorts business, though it expects the property market to remain lukewarm.

The group also expects to record a significant gain upon the successful disposal of Berjaya Vietnam International University Town One Member Limited Liability Company (BVIUT), and another Vietnam subsidiary, in due course.

At market close today, shares in Berjaya Land slipped one sen to settle at 29 sen, valuing the group at RM1.5 billion.