KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 29): Gamuda Bhd posted a net profit of RM214.08 million in the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2021 (4QFY21), against a net loss of RM12.52 million a year ago.

The improvement in quarterly earnings was due to stronger construction and property earnings as works on all fronts picked up the pace on the back of rigorous Covid-19 control measures adopted by the group, and the absence of last year’s one-off non-cash industrialised building system (IBS) assets impairment of RM148.1 million, Gamuda said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

As a result, it posted an earnings per share of 8.52 sen per share for 4QFY21 compared to loss per share of 0.5 sen per share in 4QFY20.

Quarterly revenue, however, dipped 4.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM886.67 million in 4QFY21 from RM926.52 million.

On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, its net profit rose 50.94% from RM141.83 million in 3QFY21, supported by stronger construction and property earnings. Revenue, however, fell 8.7% q-o-q from RM971.18 million.

For the full-year (FY21), its net profit rose 56.26% y-o-y to RM588.31 million compared with RM376.5 million in FY20, despite its 12-month revenue dipping 3.98% to RM3.52 billion from RM3.66 billion previously.

Moving forward, Gamuda said its prospects have brightened, though recovery is likely to remain bumpy and dependent on the effectiveness of public health measures and policies to contain the Delta variant.

“Stimulus for infrastructure development, though constrained by rising government fiscal burden, may see some momentum with the government’s revival of public-private partnerships (PPP3.0),” it added.

It is anticipated that next year’s performance will be driven by overseas and local property sales, and the continued progress of MRT Putrajaya Line (formerly called the MRT Line 2).

Additionally, it said the resilience of the group will be underpinned by its construction order book of RM4.5 billion and unbilled property sales totalling RM4.6 billion which will see it through the next two years.

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

Shares in Gamuda ended two sen or 0.66% lower at RM3.02, valuing the company at RM7.59 billion. Year to date, the stock has fallen 19% from RM3.73 on Jan 4, 2021.