KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 20): Evergreen Fibreboard Bhd's net profit almost tripled to RM27.59 million or 5.38 sen a share for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2015 (3QFY15) from RM10.08 million or 1.96 sen a share a year ago, as it gained from a strengthened US dollar.

The group recorded a foreign exchange gain of RM8.02 million in the latest quarter, compared to RM1.55 million in the previous corresponding quarter.

In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, the manufacturer of medium density fibreboard (MDF) said that its net profit increase was also contributed by the lower cost of glue, higher operational efficiency as well as synergistic cost savings.

Its revenue for the quarter rose 9.2% to RM256.04 million from RM234.49 million in 3QFY14, mainly from higher selling price as a result of the stronger US dollar.

Net profit for the nine-month period (9MFY15) came in at RM71.53 million, as compared to a net loss of RM14.2 million a year ago, while revenue increased 8.5% to RM748.13 million from RM689.82 million in 9MFY14.

Evergreen said the increase in its cumulative period's revenue was contributed by higher sales volume, as well as the impact of a stronger US dollar.

Moving forward, the group said steady global MDF demand and the strong US dollar — its exports are denominated in the greenback — are external factors that continuously enhance its performance.

"Coupled with the group's internal efforts on better products mix, cost control measures, maximising productivity and equipment enhancement via modernisation and automation on manufacturing processes, the board is optimistic [about] achieving better results in the next quarter," it said.

Shares in Evergreen closed three sen or 1.38% lower at RM2.14, with 3.51 million shares traded. Its share price gives it a market capitalisation of RM1.11 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)