PETALING JAYA (Feb 2): Construction company Gamuda Bhd has been awarded the highest five-star SCORE rating by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. It is the first and only Malaysian company to achieve such a feat in the local construction industry.
The SCORE Programme (also known as “Penilaian Keupayaan dan Kemampuan Kontraktor”) is developed by CIDB Malaysia, in collaboration with SME Corp, with the aim of providing an effective gauge of local contractors’ strengths through its stringent and comprehensive rating system.
In a statement today, Gamuda's (fundamental:2.2; valuation: 1.5) executive director Ubull Din Om said it was an honour to be conferred the five-star rating in the recently announced results of the SCORE Programme.
“We are spurred to further enhance our capability and sustain an even higher delivery standard in our project execution. We hope with the award of this first five-star SCORE rating, other local players will be encouraged to take SCORE as a learning platform to develop their competencies.
“In the long run, this will help develop a more robust and internationally-competitive construction industry for our country, in terms of efficiency, productivity, quality, safety and health,” Ubull said.
The SCORE programme is an ongoing effort by CIDB Malaysia to raise the profile of the local construction industry and provide a basis for the development of Malaysian contractors by identifying areas for improvement.
Assessment is conducted every year, based on parameters such as management strength, technical expertise, business performance and best practices. It is aimed at promoting competition among contractors and to enable them to determine their level of performance and growth of companies through the comparison of results.
“Besides providing an incentive for contractors to up their expertise, the annual SCORE Programme also keeps local contractors on-track for constant improvement with an aim to cultivate local players to benefit from globalisation – in line with the vision outlined under the Construction Industry Master Plan,” said Ubull.
“Looking ahead, the industry will play an increasingly critical role in facilitating the nation’s progress as we move closer towards year 2020, as construction activities pervade all sectors of our economy. In a way, sustainable growth of the Malaysian construction industry will be underpinned by the efforts of local contractors to minimise and improve on their weaknesses,” concluded Ubull.
Gamuda Berhad is currently involved in the construction of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) project in a joint venture with MMC Corporation Berhad.
CIDB Malaysia CEO Datuk Seri Prof. Ir. Dr. Judin Abdul Karim said he was pleased that the SCORE programme was fast gaining traction in elevating the capability of Malaysian contractors, through its comprehensive rating system which applied international best practices as yardstick.
“This is the first time a Malaysian construction company is recognised with the highest SCORE rating (five stars out of a scale of five), since the programme was launched in 2008. This shows that our construction industry is now on par with other foreign contractors, if not better,” he added.
Fom 2009 – 2004, a total of 7,215 contractors had been assessed. Last year alone, 3,202 contractors were assessed.
Gamuda closed at 0.2% higher at RM5.07 last Friday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM11.905 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.)