This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 13, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Bermaz Auto Bhd (BAuto), the sole distributor of Mazda vehicles in Malaysia, saw its fourth-quarter net profit rise 5.02%, on lower operating overheads.

Net profit for the fourth financial quarter ended April 30, 2019 (4QFY19) increased to RM60.06 million from RM57.19 million a year ago.

This resulted in a higher earnings per share of 5.18 sen compared with 4.93 sen per share in 4QFY18.

Quarterly revenue, however, fell 5.66% to RM538.28 million from RM570.59 million a year ago, mainly due to lower vehicle sales volume recorded from both the domestic and the Philippine operations.

“During the quarter under review, the sales volume in Malaysia normalised as the group had fulfilled all back orders received during the tax holiday prior to Sept 1, 2018,” BAuto said in a filling with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

“Sales volume from the Philippine operations continues to be affected by the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) law that was implemented in January 2018. The Train law has caused an increase in excise tax and consequently, car prices have also increased, thus dampening the demand for motor vehicles in the Philippines,” it added.

The group has declared a fourth interim dividend of 3.5 sen per share and a special dividend of seven sen per share, totalling a payout of 10.5 sen per share, payable on July 25.

“The total dividend declared for the financial year ended April 30, 2019 (FY19) amounted to 21.25 sen per share compared with 10.4 sen in FY18,” it said in a separate statement.

For full FY19, the group’s net profit jumped 89.51% to RM265.27 million from RM139.98 million in FY18, while revenue rose 25.05% to RM2.49 billion from RM1.99 billion.

Going forward, the group expects the launch of the all-new Mazda3, CX-8, CX-30 and the new facelift of the ever popular CX-5 model in the second half of this year to mitigate some of the challenges that could dampen local consumer sentiment. This include uncertainties over the ongoing trade spat between US and China, the persistently weak ringgit and more stringent hire purchase guidelines.