This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 30, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Corp Bhd saw its net profit for the first quarter ended July 31, 2015 (1QFY16) surge almost sevenfold year-on-year to RM56.13 million from RM8.28 million previously, primarily due to a higher share of results from associates under its subsidiaries, and a disposal gain of a subsidiary of about RM15 million.

The better financials were also propped up by a RM13.95 million gain on the remeasurement of its equity interest in REDtone International Bhd, a spokesman said in an email response to The Edge Financial Daily yesterday.

Besides that, 1QFY15 also saw a wholly-owned unit aggressively closing down its non-performing stores to reduce operating costs. Consequently, there were higher impairments that year, she said.

Meanwhile, revenue for the latest quarter came in 14.06% lower at RM2.14 billion, from RM2.49 billion in 1QFY15, due to the full effects of Berjaya Auto Bhd’s (BAuto) de-consolidation, and higher finance costs.

Earnings per share for the quarter expanded more than seven times to 1.19 sen per share from 0.24 sen last year, its filing with Bursa Malaysia showed.  The group declared a one sen dividend for FY15, payable on Dec 30.

In the filing, Berjaya Corp said the group posted a lower pre-tax profit of RM183.84 million against RM200.3 million a year ago, due to the full effects of de-consolidating BAuto and higher finance costs.

Going forward, Berjaya Corp (fundamental: 0.9; valuation: 2) said the group’s operating performance will be challenging for the remainder of FY16, given the current economic outlook and  the weakening of the ringgit. 

The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.