KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): MPHB Capital Bhd's net profit jumped five-fold to RM8.03 million in its second quarter for the financial year ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18) from RM1.56 million a year ago, mainly due to gain arising from a compulsory acquisition of its land during the quarter.

This resulted in higher earnings per share of 1.22 sen for 2QFY18 compared with 0.22 sen for 2QFY17.

Its quarterly revenue, however, dipped 1% to RM116.42 million from RM117.78 million a year earlier.  

The group said the lower revenue for the 2QFY18 was due to lower revenue from the insurance segment.

Its insurance unit posted a lower profit before tax (PBT) of RM1.96 million from RM6.26 million a year earlier, mainly due to higher claims, higher marketing and administrative expenses.

For its credit division, PBT tax remained flat at RM2.75 million attributed to fair value changes in the financial assets.

For the cumulative six months ended June 30, 2018 (1HFY18), the company’s net profit was 74% lower at RM4.75 million against RM18.5 million a year earlier, while revenue fell 3% to RM227.56 million from RM234.31 million in 1HFY17.

The huge profit variation was mainly due to the changes in the present value of its put option, and loss from its insurance segment of RM350,000 compared to a PBT of RM27.19 million in 1HFY17.

Shares of MPHB Capital rose two sen or 1.6% today to RM1.27, leaving the group with a market capitalisation of RM908.05 million.