Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd reported a 23.3% increase in profit before tax (PBT) to RM37.7 million for its third quarter ended 30 September 2022 (Q3FYE2022) from RM30.6 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The higher PBT was on the back of a 16.5% increase in revenue to RM259.4 million from RM222.6 million recorded a year ago. Growth was primarily driven by the higher progress billing of construction works while higher site activities improved margins through operational efficiency during the quarter under review.
The commendable Q3FYE2022 earnings resulted in the PBT improving by 27.0%, year on year, to RM114.4 million for the cumulative nine months period ended 30 September 2022. This was on the back of a 22.9% revenue growth to RM836.9 million.
For the cumulative nine months ended 30 September 2022 (9MFYE2022), the Group achieved a revenue of RM836.9 million representing a 22.9% increase as compared to RM681.2 million in 9MFYE2021 while 9MFYE2022 PATAMI increases by 29.5% to RM86.2 million from RM66.6 million. With the improvement in the revenue and PATAMI, 9MFYE2022 net profit margin recovered back to double digit at 10.3%.
Kerjaya’s balance sheet remained healthy with a net cash position of RM215.0 million and a current ratio of 6.0 times as at 30 September 2022. The strong cash position will enable Kerjaya to capitalise on undervalued opportunities in the weak market sentiment.
Commenting on the results, Kerjaya chief executive officer and executive director Tee Eng Tiong said, “The overall construction and property markets remained soft due to the weakened ringgit, rising raw material costs and geopolitical uncertainties. Nonetheless, Kerjaya’s financial performance remained resilient as shown by the improved earnings for the quarter under review.
Leveraging on our core competency and expertise, we managed to secure multiple large scale projects including the RM1.5 billion contract from Texas Instruments Electronics Malaysia which was awarded to our joint venture with Samsung. That bolstered our year-to-date contract wins to RM1.8 billion (as at 30 September 2022). With a strong outstanding order book of RM4.2 billion for construction contracts, we believe that will provide earnings visibility over the next three years.
Nevertheless, we remain cautiously optimistic with the business outlook as we head into 2023 where recession risk continues to overshadow the global economy. We will leverage on our expertise to secure more projects and continue to increase operational efficiency to improve our profit margins and ensure long term business sustainability.”
The Group has declared its third interim dividend of 1.0 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending 31 December 2022, which will be paid on 6 January 2023 to the shareholders on the register on 22 December 2022. This brings the total dividend declared to date for the current financial year to 4.0 sen per share.
