KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 21): Pesona Metro Holdings Bhd has bagged a RM144.17 million contract from KPJ Healthcare Bhd  to build a block of nine-storey hospital in Johor Baru.

In a statement today, Pesona Metro said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pesona Metro Sdn Bhd has accepted a letter of acceptance of tender from Bandar Dato’ Onn Specialist Hospital Sdn Bhd, an indirect wholly-owned unit of KPJ, for the proposed project.

"The 150-bed hospital construction project will take around 15 months commencing from Oct 5. The building is part of KPJ Group’s flagship hospital boasting six centre of excellence of international standards, utilising the best equipment and latest technology to cater to the growing medical tourism market in the Iskandar Malaysia region," it added.

Pesona Metro managing director Wie Hock Beng said the project will contribute positively to the group’s financial performance.

"We are also looking forward to wrap up some other negotiations in the pipeline by end of the year,” he said in the statement.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, the construction firm said the proposed project will be utilising internal funds and is not expected to have any material effect of the gearing of the group. 

"The award of project is expected to contribute positively to earnings and enhance the net assets of the group during the duration of the project," it added. 

Pesona Metro (fundamental: 2.1; valuation: 1.1) shares closed unchanged at 47 sen today, for a market capitalisation of RM297.73 million. 

(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.)