This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on February 27, 2020
*This article has been updated to amend an error in the original, which stated the group sold more property units in Abu Dhabi. The error is regretted.*
KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Edgenta Bhd said its fourth quarter of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2019 (4QFY19) net profit grew 43.53% to RM97.49 million, from RM67.92 million a year earlier, thanks to higher revenue and other income.
Earnings per share for 4Q ended Dec 31, 2019 rose to 11.72 sen from 8.17 sen previously, the group’s filing with Bursa Malaysia showed.
UEM Edgenta said its quarterly revenue grew 10.03% to RM712.26 million, from RM647.35 million for 4QFY18, thanks to higher revenue in all three businesses: asset management, infrastructure solutions, and property development.
The group declared a dividend of eight sen per share, bringing its FY19 total to 14 sen per share — unchanged from FY18.
For the full FY19, UEM Edgenta’s net profit rose 22.47% to RM181.78 million, from RM148.43 million for FY18, as revenue grew 10.47% to RM2.41 billion from RM2.18 billion.
The group said it secured new businesses in the healthcare support division across all regions, with higher work volume in Malaysia and Indonesia under its infrastructure solutions. The group
also received the final settlement for its Abu Dhabi project in FY19.
On prospects, UEM Edgenta said it expects growth in its healthcare support services from increasing demand and emergence of new care models beyond traditional hospital settings.
For its infrastructure services division, the group intends to build on its existing projects in Indonesia as well as Sabah and Sarawak for long-term growth opportunities.
UEM Edgenta shares rose two sen to RM2.60 yesterday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM2.16 billion.