KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 26): GPA Holdings Bhd, which had shut manufacturing operations of its three loss-making subsidiaries in November 2015, expects to turnaround as soon as possible, as the group intends to focus on its distribution platform, coupled with the launch of products to complement its automotive battery business.

The three units are GP Autobat Sdn Bhd, GPA Plastic Industries Sdn Bhd and GPA Technologies Sdn Bhd, which are primarily involved in the production and sale of automotive batteries, plastic components and sealed lead acid batteries, respectively. 

Its director David Lai Sze Pheng said the company believes it can turnaround in near term, after embarking on two product launches, namely motorcycle batteries and motor vehicles lubricant.

“So we are also looking into new products (to complement our structure) that are basically the motorbike batteries and also the (motor vehicles) lubricant business,” he said after the company's annual general meeting today. 

It is notable that the motorbike batteries was launched last month, while the motor vehicles lubricant was launched in July.

However, Lai said both products were still in the early stage.

“We started the distribution of the motorbike batteries in the market since August. While the (motor vehicles) lubricant, we just started initially in July by exporting it to Southeast Asia countries.

“We are still in the infant stage to test the market at the moment. But if the prices and demand is good, we will roll out more in the future,” he shared. 

Additionally, the company will also improve its distribution channels by shifting its products to dealers, rather than distributors, to enhance their earnings.

“We can actually reduce our dependency on the big distributors and concentrate more on those dealers which basically give us better margin.

“Hopefully, that will help us enhance our topline and revenue and also improve our margin, going forward,” Lai said.

On business prospects, Lai said as of now, the plans are all in place, but given the volatility of the currency and lead prices, the company's business will remain challenged. 

“We wish to turnaround as soon as possible; as I said within the company, we can control the internal resources and internal issues, but again the external factor such as the currency and lead prices are affecting us,” he said, adding that the raw materials needed for production are US dollar-denominated. 

For the first quarter ended June 30, 2017 (1QFY18), GPA’s posted a net loss of RM940,000 from a net profit of RM1.4 million, while its revenue fell to RM18.5 million against RM26.6 million a year ago. 

At midday break today, GPA shares remain unchanged at 10 sen with 75,000 shares traded, for a market capitalisation of RM98.05 million.