KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): Lafarge Malaysia Bhd saw its revenue increased 2.88% to RM696.09 million in the first quarter of financial year 2015 ended March 31, 2015 (1QFY15), compared to RM676.63 million in the previous corresponding quarter, on higher cement and concrete sales.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Lafarge (fundamental: 1.8; valuation: 1.1), however, saw its net profit dipped slightly by 0.32% to RM73.69 million or 8.7 sen per share, compared to RM73.93 million or 8.7 sen per share in the first quarter of financial year 2014 (1QFY14).

Lafarge declared a dividend of eight sen per share.

In the report on its financial performance, Lafarge said its profit before tax (PBT) of RM99.4 million in 1QFY15 was 2.2% higher, compared to 1QFY14 of RM97.2 million, mainly due to better operating margin from its concrete segment.

Lafarge said revenue for 1QFY15 was 2.9% higher than 1QFY14, due to higher cement and concrete sales in the domestic market, on the back of market growth.

The cement maker said the outlook of the construction sector is expected to remain positive in 2015, driven mainly by the continued progress of key infrastructure projects and on-going commercial and residential developments.

“The company will continue to focus on product quality and providing solutions to customers, whilst improving its efficiency in the overall operations,” the statement read.

“The market will remain very competitive in the context of the recently-installed and upcoming additional capacity by the industry players,” it added.

Lafarge share price closed 10 sen or 1.04% today, with a market capitalisation of RM8.157 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.)