This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 30, 2016.

KUALA LUMPUR: Gamuda Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended April 30, 2016 fell 4.8% to RM152.69 million or 6.34 sen per share, from RM160.43 million or 6.81 sen per share a year earlier.

The group said earnings were affected by the softening of the domestic property market and tapering of underground and elevated works for the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Line 1 project.

Revenue fell 15.6% to RM467.29 million from RM553.78 million, Gamuda said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

The group declared a second interim dividend of six sen per share, payable on July 28, bringing year-to-date payout to 12 sen per share.

Gamuda said net profit for the nine months ended April 30, 2016 (9MFY16) fell 10.3% to RM474.04 million or 19.69 sen per share, from RM528.46 million or 22.58 sen per share in 9MFY15.

Revenue for the period fell 15.2% to RM1.51 billion from RM1.78 billion.

Going forward, the construction outfit anticipates a good performance from ongoing construction projects and steady earnings from the water and expressway concessions division.

This is despite the expected weaker growth in its property division over the coming quarters, arising from the softening residential and non-residential property market.

“Sales are expected to pick up in the next few quarters due to the launches of several new projects in Malaysia and overseas,” said Gamuda, adding that unbilled sales at the end of the current quarter totalled RM1 billion.