Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 29): YTL Corp Bhd posted a net profit of RM2.44 million in its fourth quarter ended June 30, 2019 (4QFY19) compared to a net loss of RM63.54 million in the year-ago quarter, as quarterly revenue came in one-fifth higher at RM5.04 billion versus RM4.2 billion in 4QFY18.

YTL Corp’s board of directors declared an interim dividend of four sen with respect to FY19, payable on Nov 13.

Save for its property and utilities business segments, YTL Corp recorded positive growth in profit before tax (PBT) in all its business divisions during the quarter under review, its exchange filing today showed.

Its construction division's PBT rose 63% on-year to RM44.7 million after a significant increase in construction works, while cement manufacturing and trading PBT was up 20% to RM12.7 million from the higher share of profits contributed by its associate company.

Also of note was the return to black in its hotels division with a PBT of RM47.82 million versus a loss before tax (LBT) of RM45.74 million previously, as a result of the consolidation of The Hague Marriott Hotel in the Netherlands, contribution from the newly acquired The Westin Perth hotel in Australia, better performance post-refurbishment of JW Marriott KL, and an unrealised foreign exchange gain on inter-company balances.

Its management services and others segment similarly saw a significantly stronger PBT of RM76.52 million from an LBT of 138.46 million due to lower operating costs, fair value gain on investments, derivatives and investment properties.

Information technology and e-commerce related business also returned to the black from a year ago with a PBT of RM144,000 compared to an LBT of RM824,000, thanks to higher interest income earned and lower adminsitration expenses incurred.

These were, however, partly offset by a less profitable utilities segment, which saw PBT sinking 63% to RM119.38 million, as it was impacted by lower retail non-fuel and ancillary margin, lower vesting contract level and margin, higher finance costs, and an allowance for impairment of receivables, besides the absence of a one-off pension credit recognised.

Its property segment also recorded a 97% increase in LBT to RM114.57 million during the quarter due to the absence of a land disposal gain, coupled with inventory write down, fair value loss of investment properties and lower unrealised foreign exchange gain on borrowings denominated in foreign currencies.

For the full year, YTL Corp’s net profit came in at RM258.85 million, down 24.1% from FY18’s RM340.92 million, despite revenue rising 13.2% to RM18 billion from RM15.89 billion, as cost of sales and finance cost offset the increase.

Its share price slipped half a sen to finish at 97.5 sen today, valuing YTL Corp at RM10.35 billion. Over the last 12 months, the stock has declined by about 24%.

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