KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 28): Integrated chemicals and lubricants distributor Samchem Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 (3QFY20) surged 79.51% to RM9.51 million, from RM5.30 million a year ago, thanks to higher sales volume and better margin.

In a bourse filing, the group announced that its revenue for 3QFY20 also rose 9.09% to RM288.61 million, from RM264.56 million a year ago.

The group said its profit after tax increased significantly due to higher operational efficiency, enhanced inventory management and economies of scale. Its profit after tax margin for the quarter improved to 3.9% from 2.1% in 3QFY19.

The group also declared a second interim dividend of 1.2 sen per share and to date, Samchem has declared two interim dividends amounting to 2.2 sen.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2020, the group’s net profit jumped 33.63% year-on-year to RM22.6 million, from RM16.91 million.

Its revenue, however, slipped 1.89% to RM748.13 million, from RM762.56 million in the year-ago period.

Samchem’s chief executive officer Ng Thin Poh said that to continue to serve the group’s customers in an undisrupted manner, the group has implemented robust business continuity measures to ensure occupational health and safety and compliance with governmental regulations.

According to him, the group has more than 500 different petrochemicals in its portfolio which are essential in manufacturing various end products.

“Samchem group has regional presence and 56% of our 3QFY20 revenue was derived from Vietnam and Indonesia. We are beginning to see further traction in these countries supported by growing middle income population and rapid industrialisation.

“We are confident of growing our presence both domestically and regionally as we increase our products portfolio and expand into other synergistic areas of the chemicals supply chain to strengthen our position in the market,” he said.

At midday break, Samchem rose 1.74% or 2 sen to RM1.17, valuing it at RM318.24 million.