KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 9): Tien Wah Press Holdings Bhd remained in the red after posting a net loss of RM7.09 million for its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 (3QFY17) — its second consecutive losing quarter — following the cessation of its printing operations in the country that was announced on July 20.

In comparison, it posted a net profit of RM4.16 million in 3QFY16.

It recorded a total closure cost of RM13.6 million, its Bursa Malaysia filing today showed. A foreign exchange loss of RM2.4 million — as opposed to a forex gain of RM900,000 a year ago — and cost incurred for its new operations in Dubai, which started commercial production in October, also impacted its bottomline.

Revenue, however, grew 26% year-on-year to RM104.5 million from RM82.93 million, mainly to the revenue consolidation of a newly acquired foreign unit.

Consequently, it reported a net loss of RM17.41 million in its first nine months of FY17, compared to a net profit of RM15.88 million a year ago, though revenue grew 31.2% to RM323.36 million from RM246.49 million.

The year-to-date loss was due to the closure of its Australian (announced on July 15) and Malaysian ops, at a total cost of RM43.8 million, besides a higher forex loss of RM6 million (from RM1.6 million last year), and the costs incurred for the new Dubai ops of RM4.2 million.

"Excluding the aforesaid, the profit before tax for the YTD ended Sept 30 would have been RM13.9 million," it said. Its PBT in the corresponding YTD period last year was RM16.88 million.

"Barring unforeseen circumstances, the group expects to complete the restructuring of its production footprint by end-2017.

"Moving forward, the group will be better placed to capitalize on the growth opportunities in Indonesia and Dubai and to identify growth opportunities in other geographical segments," it said.

Tien Wah shares slid 4 sen or 2.42% to close at RM1.61 today, for a market capitalisation of RM233.04 million. In the past one year, the stock has fallen about 10%.