KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): Shares of MSM Malaysia fell as much as 20 sen or 8.3% in early trade after posting a decline in its latest quarterly results on the back of margin compression due to lower average selling price.

At 10.15am, the counter was thinly traded at RM2.23, down 17 sen or 7.1%, with a volume of 165,000 shares, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.57 billion.

Yesterday, MSM booked a net loss of RM10.39 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2018 (4QFY18) against net profit of RM9.32 million the year before, due to lower average selling price and higher finance costs.

The lower average selling price was due to aggressive competition in local sugar market, which was reflected in a 16.1% decline in full-FY18 revenue to RM2.22 billion from RM2.64 billion the year before.

Despite that, MSM booked a net profit in FY18 of RM35.62 million from net loss of RM36.34 million in FY17.

In a separate statement, MSM executive director Datuk Khairil Anuar Aziz cautioned of excise duty (soda tax) for sugar beverages of 40 sen per litre beginning April 1 this year.