KUALA LUMPUR: Construction outfit Gamuda Bhd saw its net profit for the second quarter ended January (2QFY15) increase 7.1% to RM182.18 million or 7.78 sen per share from RM170.12 million or 7.41 sen per share a year ago.

Revenue grew 26.2% to RM653.24 million from RM517.63 million in 2QFY14. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Gamuda said the increase in revenue and profit was “mainly due to additional stake in Kesas Sdn Bhd, the concession holder of Shah Alam Expressway”.

For the cumulative six-months period (6MFY15), Gamuda’s net profit rose 9.7% to RM368.03 million or 15.78 sen per share from RM335.60 million or 14.66 sen per share a year ago, while revenue went up 21.8% to RM1.22 billion from RM1 billion in 6MFY14.

On a segmental basis, Gamuda’s construction division revenue in 6MFY15 grew 8% to RM609.08 million from RM563.56 million previously, which the group attributed to higher work progress from the underground works of the Klang Valley mass rapid transit (KVMRT) project.

As for its property division, revenue in 6MFY15 jumped 10% to RM414.78 million from RM377.14 million, thanks to its Gamuda City project in Vietnam.

Gamuda (fundamental: 2.2; valuation: 1.5) added that its property division sold RM292 million worth of properties in 2QFY15, which boosted its 6MFY15 sales to RM535 million.

Its current unbilled sales stood at RM1.5 billion, while the remaining gross development value of its existing and new projects stands at RM49.16 billion.

Meanwhile, revenue for its water and expressway divisions tripled to RM199.01 million in 6MFY15 from RM63.04 million in 6MFY14, as a result of its additional stake in Kesas Sdn Bhd. Going forward, Gamuda expects a “good performance this year”.

“The group anticipates a good performance this year from ongoing construction projects, substantial unbilled sales of the property division, and steady earnings from the water and expressway concessions divisions,” it said in the filing.

The stock closed three sen or 0.57% lower at RM5.20 yesterday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM12.22 billion.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on March 27, 2015.