KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Hextar Global Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21) fell 42% to RM7.21 million from RM12.47 million a year ago, mainly due to the global supply chain disruption that had caused raw material shortages and price escalations across industries.

The agrochemical group told a bourse filing on Monday, its quarterly revenue grew marginally to RM112.55 million from RM111.56 million a year ago.

The group did not declare any dividend.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the group’s net profit slid 3.21% from RM7.44 million, while its revenue increased by 14.03% from RM98.7 million.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2021, the group’s net profit slipped 23.09% to RM25.4 million from RM33.03 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher cost of goods sold and operating expenses.

Its revenue for the period, however, rose 2.91% to RM326.07 million from RM316.85 million.

Hextar Global executive director Datuk Eddie Ong Choo Meng said he remains optimistic about the performance of the group.

“Malaysia is making good progress in vaccination which has resulted in a substantial reduction in the number of new Covid-19 positive cases since July 2021 and the economy is slowly recovering from the Covid-19 lockdowns imposed earlier.

“Demand for agrochemical products has been increasing but delivery has been delayed due to bottlenecks in the supply chain. We believe that the situation should normalize soon but we will continue to monitor the current global supply chain issue closely as it remains an impediment to business operations globally,” he said.

Looking ahead, he said Hextar Global expects to continue its growth momentum and remains resilient, backed by management’s efforts and the group’s strategies and initiatives.

“With encouraging signs of economic recovery in Malaysia and globally, we believe Hextar is well-positioned to achieve improved business performance in future years,” he said.

On Monday's noon break, Hextar Global rose three sen or 2.03% to RM1.51, valuing the group at RM1.94 billion.

Year-to-date, the counter has risen 169.64%.