KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 18): Lafarge Malaysia Bhd, the country's largest cement manufacturer, recorded a 28.9% increase in net profit to RM70.65 million or 8.3 sen a share for its third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (3QFY15) from RM54.81 million or 6.5 sen a share a year ago, mainly due to higher sales revenue from the cement segment, improved plant performance and higher foreign exchange (forex) gains.

Revenue for 3QFY15 rose slightly to RM670.88 million from RM664.63 million in 3QFY14, thanks to higher revenue from its cement segment which offsets the lower revenue from its concrete and aggregate segments.

The group also declared a third interim dividend of 8 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015 (FY15), payable on Jan 13, 2016.

For the cumulative nine months (9MFY15), Lafarge Malaysia posted a slight increase in net profit to RM207.66 million or 24.4 sen a share from RM206.06 million or 24.3 sen a share in 9MFY14.

This is despite revenue falling by a marginal 1.3% to RM2.03 billion from RM2.06 billion.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Lafarge Malaysia attributed the better net profit to improved plant performance and higher forex gains.

Going forward, Lafarge Malaysia said the outlook of the construction sector remains positive in 2015, driven mainly by the continued progress of key infrastructure projects and ongoing commercial and residential development.

"The group will continue to focus on understanding customer needs and developing solutions to meet these needs and in maintaining product quality. At the same time, we will focus on further enhancing its overall operational efficiency," it added.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the group's performance will continue to remain satisfactory, it said.

Lafarge Malaysia shares closed down six sen or 0.65% at RM9.20 today, bringing a market capitalisation of RM7.82 billion.

(Note: 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.)