KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Dialog Group Bhd posted a net profit of RM133.06 million for the third financial quarter ended March 31, 2022 (3QFY22), down 2.3% from RM136.17 million a year earlier, mainly caused by higher project cost.

Earnings per share declined to 2.36 sen from 2.41 sen previously.

Quarterly revenue, however, jumped 46.5% to RM593.43 million compared with RM405.18 million a year ago, contributed by increased business activities in both home and international operations, the oil and gas company's filing with the bourse on Tuesday (May 17) showed.

The company also declared an interim cash dividend payment of 1.3 sen per share, to be paid on June 28, 2022.

For the cumulative nine months ended March 31, 2022, Dialog's net profit slipped 3.7% year-on-year to RM389.76 million from RM404.6 million. Cumulative revenue, meanwhile, grew 51% to RM1.64 billion from RM1.09 billion.

Dialog said the higher revenue reported by the Malaysian operations for the quarter under review was attributable to increased activities in the upstream, midstream and downstream activities.

"The upstream activities benefitted from the higher oil price and Dialog Terminals Pengerang (5) Sdn Bhd (DTP5) storage tanks, which were commissioned in February 2021, contributed to higher revenue for the midstream business. DTP5 has a storage capacity of 430,000 cubic metre and is dedicated for use by BP Singapore Pte Ltd.

"In the downstream business, the Malaysian team was busy with various engineering, construction, fabrication, and plant maintenance projects. These projects are currently ongoing, however they are facing unprecedented challenges due to Covid-19 pandemic," said Dialog.

The company said the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic and the stringent standard operating procedures introduced worldwide caused severe supply chain disruptions, higher material prices and labour costs, resulting in delay in most of the projects and severe cost overruns.

On the international front, Dialog reported higher revenue, increased engineering, construction and plant service activities in Singapore and higher sales of specialist products and services in various countries.

Looking ahead, Dialog said it remains confident that its business model is well structured to manage and sustain itself through periods of economic certainty, oil price volatility and currency movements.

Dialog's share price dropped two sen to RM2.28 on Tuesday, with some 11.47 million shares changing hands. Based on its closing price, the company is valued at RM12.87 billion.