ACO Group Berhad has debuted on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad today. The stock is categorised under the Industrial Products and Services sector.
The electrical products and accessories distributor distributes a total of 88 brands of electrical products and accessories comprising of 85 third party brands and three own brands.
The Group also had a lighting concept store, namely “UR Home Light” in Johor Bahru. Additionally, the ACO Group is an authorized distributor of 10 brands of electrical products and accessories that include Schneider Electric, KDK, Hager, Omron, Panasonic and Siemens among others.
“Since our inception in 1991, we have weathered through numerous headwinds and several business cycles along the way to get to where we are today. As markets all over the world are currently faced with uncertainties arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic slowdown, we remain cognisant on the near-term challenges that lie ahead,” said Group Managing Director, Tang Pee Tee.
“We are here for the long haul and as a Group with strong fundamentals and long term future plans, we are focused on growing our market share and financial performance. The immediate focus is on executing our expansion plans to capitalize and tap into the growth opportunities that lie ahead in the power and construction industries,” he added.
ACO Group raised RM16.2 million from its IPO exercise, of which RM4.2 million or 25.9 percent of total proceeds would be used to set up new sales outlets and lighting concept store, RM2.5 million (15.4 percent) for the set-up of new head office and distribution centre in Johor and RM2.0 million (12.3 percent) to purchase new trucks and upgrade Information Technology (“IT”) system.
Other utilisations of the IPO proceeds include RM4.2 million (26.1 percent) for working capital and RM3.3 million (20.3 percent) to defray listing expenses.
The Group’s revenue also grew from RM 114.5 million in FY2017 to RM 134.4 million in FY2019, representing a two-year compound annual growth rate of 8.3 percent.
Profit after tax (PAT) rose to RM 7.4 million in FY 2019 at a two-year CAGR of 29.0 percent.
Majority of its revenue, approximately 71 percent of total revenue in FY2019 was contributed by its direct distribution channel which includes industrial users such as electrical contractors, electrical product manufacturers, factory and business owners, equipment and machinery repair and maintenance service providers as well.
The remaining 29 percent of its FY2019 revenue was derived from its indirect distribution channel, made up of distributors and retailers.
For the financial period ended November 30, the Group reported a revenue of RM 104.1 million and PAT of Rm 6.0 million, representing a y-o-y increase in revenue of 8.8 percent and net profit of 39.4 percent respectively.
The Group will also see expansion of its foothold in other towns within Johor and new markets such as Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pulau Pinang and Pahang.
