KUALA LUMPUR (July 26): CTOS Digital Bhd's net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 (2QFY22) jumped 89.86% to RM22.48 million from RM11.84 million a year ago, underpinned by a substantial jump in other income and share of profits of associates.
CTOS Digital recorded other income of RM1.28 million for 2QFY22 versus expenses of RM133,000 a year ago. Share of profits of associates — contributed by JurisTech, which was acquired in March 2022, and its associate in Thailand, Business Online Public Company Ltd — more than tripled to RM5.73 million from RM1.77 million previously, its Bursa filing with Bursa Malaysia showed.
The better year-on-year profitability in 2QFY22 was also due to the lower tax expenses of RM266,000 (from RM2.46 million) and a decrease in finance costs to RM775,000 (from RM1.62 million).
Hence, its earnings per share increased to 0.9 sen in 2QFY22 from 0.6 sen in 2QFY21.
Revenue for the quarter rose 22.89% to RM46.51 million from RM37.85 million a year before.
The company declared a second single-tier interim dividend of 0.59 sen per share, to be payable on Sept 13.
For the cumulative six months ended June 30, its net profit surged 79.03% to RM34.96 million from RM19.53 million during the same period last year, while revenue expanded by 17.66% to RM89.19 million from RM75.8 million previously.
"Normalised PATAMI (profit after tax and minority interest) increased by 25.9% or RM8.1 million to RM39.5 million in the current period from RM31.4 million in the corresponding period of the previous financial year, attributed mainly to the growth in our segment profit and the higher share of profits of associates. Excluding the normalisation of interest expenses on borrowings, the normalised PATAMI grew by 45.4% or RM11.9 million," it added.
On a quarterly basis, the group's net profit surged 80.2% from RM12.48 million registered in the immediate preceding quarter (1QFY22) while revenue rose 8.98% from RM42.68 million.
It attributed the better quarter-on-quarter profitability to the higher profits from its Malaysian and international operations, and higher share of profits of associates.
Moving forward, with the continued recovery of the Malaysian economy, CTOS Digital expects its subsidiaries and business segments to continue to grow in line with expectations in the second half of FY22.
"There are some challenges in the domestic and global markets. However, we do have control measures in place and barring unforeseen circumstances, the board is optimistic that the medium- to long-term outlook for the group is positive with potential upside through expansion into new verticals," it added.
Shares in CTOS Digital finished four sen or 3.15% higher at RM1.31 on Tuesday (July 26), giving it a market capitalisation of RM3.03 billion. The stock has gained 19% from its initial public offering price of RM1.10.