Kuala Lumpur (Feb 5): Building materials industry player Hume Industries Bhd, a member of Hong Leong Group, fell into the red with a net loss of RM4.44 million in its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2017, after booking higher cost of sales, operating expenses and finance costs.

In contrast, it posted a net profit of RM9.2 million in the corresponding period last year, its Bursa Malaysia filing today showed. Quarterly revenue slid 2% to RM162.89 million from RM165.73 million a year ago.

Cost of sales grew 13% to RM128.56 million from RM114.23 million, while operating expenses rose 4% to RM37.14 million from RM35.6 million. Finance costs jumped near three times to RM7.66 million from RM2.82 million.

In its cumulative first half (1HFY18), the group made a net loss of RM3.99 million compared with a net profit of RM17.22 million in the previous corresponding period, though cumulative revenue rose 3% to RM324.67 million from RM315.63 million a year ago.

The decline in earnings was mainly due to lower selling price and higher operating expenses, it said.

Moving forward, the building materials manufacturer expects the business environment to remain challenging.

However, it said demand for cement and concrete products will improve with the implementation of major infrastructure projects ahead.

Shares in Hume Industries closed unchanged today at RM2, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM939.02 million.