KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 25): Cement and construction materials company Cahya Mata Sarawak’s second quarter financial period ended June 30, 2017 saw its net profit jump by more than eight times to RM64.74 million, from RM7.90 million in the same period last year, mainly due to a lower share of losses in its associate company OM Materials Sdn Bhd.

In a filing with the bourse today, the Sarawak-based company said its 2QFY17 revenue was 2.6% lower at RM388.27 million, from RM398.82 million seen last year, due to lower revenue recorded across all its business divisions, except for property development.

Meanwhile, its cumulative six months net profit soared almost ten times higher at RM87.39 million, from RM8.95 million seen last year, due to the cement, construction & road maintenance, construction materials & tradingm as wella s the property development divisions.

Cumulative six months revenue meanwhile dipped by 10% to RM670.57 million, from RM745.72 million seen last year, due to lower sales volume in its construction materials and cement divisions.

On prospects, the group said while the operating environment remains challenging, the group’s diversified portfolio of Sarawak-based businesses is positioned to weather the challenging environment.

"The first six-months of 2017 has been an important phase in terms of meeting performance against targets, despite the challenging market and operational conditions faced by our group. 

The macro factors include low commodity selling prices and generally, the sluggish regional private and public sectors, resulting in reduced demand for construction materials and related services,” said its group managing director Datuk Richard Curtis in a separate statement.

“Overall, the results for the first six-months of this year are viewed positively, as they provide reassurance that the group is on track towards achieving a very much-improved performance for its FY2017 financial results, as against FY2016,” Curtis added.