This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 19, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Dagang NeXchange Bhd’s (DNeX) net profit grew 42.6% to RM9.48 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2019 (3QFY19), from RM6.65 million for the previous corresponding quarter, thanks to a lower income tax.

The company paid a lower income tax of RM831,000 for the quarter under review, compared with RM3.41 million last year, due to an over provision in the prior year.

DNeX also posted an improved profit before tax from its energy segment of RM6.79 million, 69.8% higher from RM4 million for 3QFY18. Earnings per share expanded to 0.54 sen, from 0.38 sen.

This was despite a 2.07% decline in quarterly revenue to RM62 million, from RM63.31 million, according to a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

For the cumulative nine months, its net profit was down 3.65% to RM33.76 million or 1.92 sen per share, from RM35.04 million or 1.99 sen per share last year. Its revenue increased 9.45% to RM203.15 million, from RM185.6 million.

DNeX said it expects to deliver positive results for 2019, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

“The group continues to aggressively pursue its group-wide operational cost optimisation programme towards achieving improvements in operational efficiency and business profitability based on a sustainable cost structure, including consolidating existing business operations,” DNeX said.

DNeX shares closed up one sen to 27.5 sen yesterday, valuing the company at RM483.46 million. Some 3.86 million shares were traded.