KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 10): Bermaz Auto Bhd net profit fell 72.42% in the second quarter ended Oct 31, 2019 (2QFY20) to RM20.39 million from RM73.92 million, largely due to lower contribution from domestic operations, as well as from its associate company Mazda Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

Quarterly earnings per share dropped to 1.76 sen from 6.36 sen. The group has recommended 2.75 sen in dividend per share for the quarter, bringing the total dividend in the first half of FY20 to 6 sen, from 6.25 sen previously.

Bermaz suffered from lower local sales volume, lower margin from absorbing higher costs for the facelift Mazda CX-5 model on subdued market sentiment, and a stronger yen — though these were partly offset by higher revenue from Philippines.

Quarterly revenue fell 33.77% to RM457.17 million, from RM690.32 million.

"The lower sales volume for the period was mainly attributed to the expected reduction in demand for the phased out CX-5 model, in favour of the new facelift CX-5 model that was launched on 30 September 2019. Although the new facelift CX-5 and the all new CX-8 models were launched at the end of September 2019 and at the beginning of October 2019 respectively, delivery of some of the vehicles was delayed by the resolution of certain pricing issues. As such, there was no sale of CX-8 vehicles during the quarter. This has affected the anticipated recovery from the lower unit sales recorded in August and September 2019," Bermaz Auto said.

As for the six-month period ended Oct 31 (6MFY20), Bermaz Auto's net profit fell 42.91% to RM70.9 million from RM123.2 million a year ago, as revenue fell 15.61% to RM992.21 million from RM1.18 billion.

“The corresponding period in the previous financial year recorded substantially higher unit sales, as it benefited from the three-month "tax holiday" period and the group's promotional campaign to absorb the sales tax as explained above,” it said.

On prospects, Bermaz is optimistic on the recent launch of its all new Mazda3, Mazda CX-8, and the Mazda CX-5 (which includes the 2.5L Turbo variant in Malaysia) and the expected launch of the all new Mazda CX-30 during the coming quarter.

In the Philippines, it plans to capitalise on the absence of excise duty for pickup trucks to bring in its new Mazda BT-50 model in FY21.

Shares of Bermaz Auto fell 3 sen to RM2.15 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.5 billion. Over the past 12 months, the stock has climbed near 11%.