KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): NTPM Holdings Bhd reported an 81.08% slump in its third-quarter net profit ended Jan 31, 2022 (3QFY22) to RM5.62 million from RM29.68 million a year earlier.

Other than the gain in disposal of subsidiary amounting to RM12.6 million, the group also attributed the lower profit to a significant increase in costs of raw materials, packaging materials and freight; higher utility and energy costs; lower foreign exchange gain; and higher selling and distribution expenses.

In contrast, quarterly revenue increased by 8.45% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM209.49 million from RM193.17 million mainly due to the increase in sales of both tissue paper and personal care products after the country transitioned into Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan.

On a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) basis, the tissue paper maker's net profit in 3QFY22 grew 67.62% from RM3.35 million in 2QFY22 due to improvement in production costs. Revenue rose 15.86% from RM180.81 million previously on higher demand for its products.

For the cumulative nine months ended Jan 31, 2022 (9MFY22), NTPM's net profit declined 57.36% y-o-y to RM24.76 million from RM58.06 million, while 9MFY22 revenue inched up 0.52% to RM564.06 million from RM561.13 million in the previous year.

On prospects, NTPM expects its business environment to be more challenging, but it remains cautiously optimistic about delivering a satisfactory performance in the final quarter of 2022.

"Such optimism is based on the group's continuous efforts in implementing its cost cutting measures and streamlining its operations as well as focusing on product improvement and quality improvement in both the tissue paper and personal care segments," the group added.

NTPM shares closed down half a sen or 1.14% to 43.5 sen on Friday (March 18), translating into a market capitalisation of RM488.59 million.