GDB Holdings Berhad recorded 11.4% higher net profit of RM28.6 million in the financial year ended 31 December 2021 (FY2021) compared to RM25.7 million a year ago, as revenue grew 17.1% to RM424.9 million from RM362.8 million previously.
The construction services firm registered higher net profit despite disruptions during the Movement Control Order as well as the National Recovery Plan periods.
The improved financial performance was on the Group’s progression to advanced stages of construction activities for ongoing projects, including Park Regent, Perla Ara Sentral, Hyatt Centric Kota Kinabalu, AIRA Residence and Hap Seng Star Mercedes-Benz Autohaus, as well as contributions from 8 Conlay which was secured in November 2020.
The Group’s outstanding orderbook amounted to RM1.54 billion as at 31 December 2021, providing earnings visibility till first quarter of financial year ended 31 December 2024.
“Against the challenging business environment, particularly the price fluctuation of input costs, we will continue to exercise prudence to achieve stability of our finances and business operations. One of the key measures is to ensure that all our construction sites are compliant to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) stipulated by the government to avoid interruptions of construction activities,” Cheah Ham Cheia, Group Managing Director of GDB said.
“Our immediate priority is to make significant progress in our jobs in hand. We aim to complete two projects in the second quarter of 2022, which would free up some capacity to take on new jobs. To expand our orderbook further, we are selectively bidding for residential and commercial buildings as well as hospitals, while progressively making headway in our ongoing projects,” he added.
For the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2021 (4Q21), revenue grew 13.1% to RM144.8 million from RM128.1 million for the corresponding quarter a year ago, mainly driven by increase in construction activities for ongoing projects.
The profit of 4QFY21 remained stable at RM8.5 million, as the profits recognised for completed projects mitigated lower profit margins for ongoing projects, higher building material prices and labour costs, as well as additional project preliminaries and staff costs due to prolonged contract duration. The Group also noted impairment of goodwill and COVID-19 compliance costs.
