KUALA LUMPUR: Malayan United Industries Bhd (MUI) sank into the red with a net loss of RM6.96 million for financial year 2014 ended December (FY14) from a net profit of RM6.28 million a year ago.

Revenue for FY14 fell by 8.3% to RM608.26 million from RM663.37 million the year before.

The poorer set of financials was attributed to weaker performances across many of the group’s business divisions, namely retail, food and confectionary; property as well as the Malaysian operations of its retail and hotel divisions.

For the fourth quarter (4Q) ended December, MUI (fundamental: 1.35; valuation: 0.3) narrowed its net loss to RM3.88 million from RM11.02 million a year ago. The losses were attributed to lower gross profit and higher total expenses from continuing operations.

Its 4QFY14 revenue declined 8% to RM167.06 million from RM181.57 million in 4QFY13.

With the losses, MUI’s loss per share for the quarter under review was 13 sen while that for the full year was 24 sen.

On the group’s prospects for the new financial year, MUI is “cautiously optimistic about the earnings of its various businesses” and “will continue to assess potential investment opportunities to enhance its shareholders’ value”.

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. Go to www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 25, 2015.