KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Wellcall Holdings Bhd net profit increased 21.3% to RM9.45 million in the third quarter ended June 30, 2019 (3QFY19) from RM7.79 million thanks to lower input costs, it said in a filing today.

Quarterly earnings per share increased to 1.9 sen from 1.57 sen in 3QFY18. The group has declared a third interim dividend of 1.4 sen per share up from 1.3 sen a year ago, raising its total dividend in the nine-month ended June 30 (9MFY19) to 4.2 sen, compared with 4.05 sen previously.

The better profit was despite revenue retreating by 3.08% to RM41.62 million from RM42.93 million last year.

“The slight decrease in revenue mainly due to the volatility of global economic sentiment which had affected the demand for industrial rubber hose market,” Wellcall said.

For 9MFY19, Wellcall’s net profit grew 24% to RM27.06 million, from RM21.82 million on better cost optimisation and higher revenue. The 9MFY19 revenue climbed 2.48% to RM128.68 million, from RM125.56 million.

Wellcall shares traded unchanged at RM1.15 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM572.64 million.