KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 25): Oriental Interest Bhd posted a net profit of RM6.58 million on the back of revenue of RM60.74 million for the fourth quarter ended Aug 31, 2021 (4QFY21).

In a bourse filing, the group said its 4QFY21 results were driven largely by the property development segment which contributed revenue of RM52.49 million and profit before tax (PBT) of RM8.56 million. It recorded a PBT of RM9.14 million for the quarter under review.

While there are no comparative year-ago figures provided due to the group's change of financial year end from June 30 to Aug 31, both its net profit and revenue fell on a quarterly basis.

Net profit dropped 68.75% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) from RM16.39 million in 3QFY21. Revenue fell 35% q-o-q from RM93.65 million in the immediate quarter.

It said both its property development and general construction segments posted lower profits and revenues q-o-q in 4QFY21, mainly as a result of temporary shutdown of the group's business activities and operations in compliance with reimposition of the nationwide full lockdown (MCO 3.0) by the government to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, its oil palm cultivation segment's lower profit and revenue q-o-q in 4QFY21 were due to a drop in harvesting volume, it added.

For the full financial year ended Aug 31, 2021 (FY21), the group recorded a cumulative revenue of RM346.8 million and a cumulative net profit of RM54.12 million.

The property development segment continued to drive the group's revenue; contributing a hefty RM318.78 million to the consolidated revenue, followed by the general construction segment with RM19.53 million in revenue.

Oil palm cultivation segment's revenue contribution stood at RM4.72 million, investment holdings segment contributed RM523,000 in revenue while others segment's revenue was at RM3.24 million.

On prospects, Oriental Interest said it is still on a continuous lookout for land acquisition and joint venture opportunities to add to its current land bank of 1,843 acres.

This land bank is expected to contribute positively to the group's future, it added.

The group's unbilled property sales totalled about RM239.34 million as at Aug 31, 2021. Hence, it said this encouraging demand has buoyed the group's cautious optimism of maintaining its performance for the upcoming year.

Shares in Oriental Interest gained one sen to close at 95.5 sen, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM444 million.