KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 21): Gamuda Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended Oct 31, 2021 (1QFY22) fell 28.83% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to RM152.37 million from RM214.08 million amid lower overseas property earnings, citing that ‘Vietnam was in lockdown’ for the quarter under review. 

This resulted in lower earnings per share of 6.06 sen in 1QFY22 compared with 8.52 sen in 4QFY21, the construction group’s filing on Tuesday (Dec 21) showed. 

Gamuda’s quarterly revenue also decreased by 15.74% to RM747.11 million from RM886.67 million in the immediate preceding quarter. 

The group declared an interim dividend of six sen per share for the financial year ending July 31, 2022, with the entitlement date will be announced later.  

On a yearly basis, the group’s net profit climbed 38.15% from RM110.3 million despite revenue declining slightly by 2.2% from RM763.95 million. Gamuda attributed the strong year-on-year earnings from all its divisions as work on all fronts continued to pick up the pace. 

It said property sales improved 25% with RM838 million worth of properties sold in 1QFY22, from RM673 million in the same period last year. 

“Overseas sales continued to spearhead the group’s property divisions, contributing two-thirds of overall sales. While at the local front, Gamuda Gardens and Gamuda Cove sales have doubled in volume,” it noted. 

Gamuda anticipated that 2022’s performance will be driven by overseas and local property sales, as well as the continued progress of MRT Putrajaya Line (formerly called MRT Line 2). 

“Moving forward, the resilience of the group is underpinned by its construction order book of RM3.8 billion and unbilled property sales totalling RM4.9 billion. 

“On top of that, the group has a healthy balance sheet with low gearing of 0.2 times and a strong cash position,” it added. 

Gamuda closed four sen or 1.39% higher at RM2.92, with some 763,400 shares traded. Based on its closing price, the stock was valued at RM7.34 billion. It has fallen 21.72% year-to-date.