Muhibbah Engineering slipped into the red in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), posting a net loss of RM1.28 million compared to a net profit of RM1.28 million a year earlier, mainly due to lower construction revenue as most of its major projects were in the completion stage, while new projects were in the early stage.
It said crane production was also affected by the quarantine of some of its operational staff due to Covid-19 during the first half of 2022. As at Nov 14, the group’s total outstanding order book for its construction and crane divisions stood at RM1.1 billion.
At the same time, higher component and shipping costs due to the Russia-Ukraine war also impacted the group’s performance in 3QFY2022.
As a result, it posted a loss per share of 0.18 sen for 3QFY2022, compared to earnings per share of 0.26 sen a year ago, according to The Edge.
On the bright side, following the reopening of borders in Cambodia in November 2021 and global uplifting of travel bans, Cambodian airports saw an improvement in international passenger arrivals and recorded better financial results. MEB is a shareholder of Sociate Concessionaire de A’ Aeroport, which holds the concession for three international airports in Cambodia, namely the Phnom International Airport, Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport and Sihanoukville International Airport.
MEB’s revenue rose 30.4% to RM253.05 million for 3QFY2022, from RM193.99 million a year earlier.
Still, the weak quarterly earnings dragged its net profit for the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2022 (9MFY2022) to RM531,000 from RM7.77 million a year earlier. Revenue also fell 11% to RM624.67 million for 9MFY2022, from RM701.51 million a year ago.
MEB said that in 2022, the overall global economy is seeing a subsiding threat from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“However, there was a surge in crude oil prices and supply chain disruption due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The group would endeavour to pursue order book replenishment while continuing efforts in improving cost efficiency, and taking appropriate measures and actions in tandem with the global development,” it added.
At the time of writing on Tuesday (Nov 22), MEB shares were half a sen or 1.19% lower at 41.5 sen each, bringing the company a market capitalisation of RM301.68 million.
