This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 26, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Integrated engineering solution provider Kelington Group Bhd has secured new orders worth RM104 million, bringing the group’s new orders secured year to date (YTD) to RM181 million.

The rise came from several contract wins totalling RM104 million and was primarily from its Ultra High Purity (UHP) segment to provide specialised engineering services for the semiconductor and electronics companies, Kelington said. Most of these new jobs were from Malaysia, followed by Singapore, China and Taiwan.

To be completed within six to nine months, the new jobs should contribute positively to Kelington’s performance for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018 (FY18) and FY19, it said.

On top of projects carried forward from last year, Kellington’s outstanding order book now stands at RM285 million. Of that, the UHP segment contributed 51%, followed by process engineering (PE) at 38% and general contracting at 11%.

Kelington chief executive Raymond Gan said the group is enjoying a better project mix,as most new orders are from the UHP and PE segments, which often carry higher profit margins.

Meanwhile, the group is not slowing down on its bidding activities. Its tender book value is at about RM1 billion. “We recently clinched a few notable projects from renowned semiconductor companies there [in China] and are confident of leveraging on our established track record to continue to secure more orders from China,” he added.

In April, Kelington announced RM77.5 million worth of new jobs secured in the first quarter of 2018, mostly  from the UHP segment.