Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): MMC Corp Bhd’s net profit fell 8.16% to RM60.03 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 (3QFY20), from RM66.34 million a year ago, on lower revenue.

The group said revenue fell 10.22% to RM1.12 billion from RM1.25 billion, mainly due to the lower progress of the MRT2 (Putrajaya Line) project and lower passenger and cargo volumes at Senai Airport due to the Movement Control Order.

On a quarter-to-quarter basis, MMC's net profit declined 21.24% from RM77.36 million in 2QFY20, despite revenue rising 12.9% from RM990.68 million.

The group declared an interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share, payable on Dec 23.

For the nine-month period ended Sept 30, MMC’s net profit rose 4.86% to RM196.17 million from RM187.08 million a year earlier, while revenue fell 11.69% to RM3.2 billion from RM3.62 billion.

On prospects, MMC said it views positively the standard operating procedures set in place by the Government to contain the spread of Covid-19 cases, noting that it is “timely and effective” and allows economic and business activities to resume progressively.

Notwithstanding the positive developments, the group said it will continuously monitor and ensure timely response to the Covid-19 situation to facilitate recovery and growth of its businesses.

MMC said its port and logistics division has been showing an improvement in performance, underpinned by economic recovery momentum since the resumption of global and domestic trade activities.

“The division will continue to utilise its assets and resources in the most optimal ways coupled with on-going cost management on the back of a positive container volume outlook for the rest of the year.

“Continuous investments into the ports’ infrastructures, operational efficiency and cost-synergy initiatives across the group are expected to be the key drivers to the overall port & logistics performance in the short and medium terms,” it added.

For the energy & utilities division, MMC said it remains resilient to the impact of Covid-19 and is expected to contribute steady earnings from its two  associated companies, namely Malakoff Bhd and Gas Malaysia Bhd.

The engineering division, meanwhile, is expected to provide earnings visibility for the group from its substantial existing order book, anchored by MRT2 project.

“Moving forward, under this challenging but improving business environment, the group is committed to strengthening our financial and market positions by focusing on operational excellence and cost optimization, whilst exploring new business opportunities,” said MMC managing director Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh in a statement.

“Notwithstanding the exceptional challenges this year, the group expects the financial performance for the current financial year to be satisfactory,” he concluded.

MMC’s share price closed down 1.5 sen or 1.73% at 85 sen, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM2.59 billion. Some 2.21 million shares were traded.

Edited ByS Kanagaraju
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