KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 22): A-Rank Bhd saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2014 (4QFY14) climbed 56% to RM2.99 million from RM1.91 million a year ago despite lower revenue.

A-Rank announced to Bursa Malaysia today that its revenue for the quarter fell 3.44% to RM123.35 million from RM127.75 in the same corresponding period.

The aluminium billets manufacturer attributed the decline to a slight drop in its business volume.

Earnings per share increased to 2.49 sen from 1.6 sen.

The group has proposed a first and final single-tier dividend of 2.25 sen per share, amounting to RM2.7 million, for the financial year ended July 31, 2014.

For the full financial year, A-Rank's net profit jumped 28.4% to RM9.5 million against RM7.4 million a year ago.

Revenue expanded almost 13% to RM487.3 million from RM431.5 million recorded in FY13.

Looking forward, A-Rank sees moderate global economic expansion in the second quarter.

"In Asia, economic activity continued to expand, albeit at a more moderate pace in most economies. Growth in Japan was, however, affected by the implementation of the increase in the consumption tax in April," it said.

"Recent improvements in economic activity suggest that a cyclical recovery remains underway in some advanced economies," it added.

A-Rank said domestic demand is expected to remain supportive of growth. However, for Malaysia the increase in electricity tariff and natural gas pricing effective January 1 and May 1, 2014 respectively had adversely impacted margins.

"We will continue to focus on improving cost efficiencies to mitigate the effect of expected inflationary pressures following the rise in the electricity tariff and natural gas pricing," it said.

Shares of A-Rank dropped 1 sen to close at 71 sen with 152,000 shares done.