Construction outfit, Kerjaya Prospek Group Berhad its second quarter results for the financial year ending 31 December 2023.
For the quarter under review, the Group reported a 10.6% growth in profit after tax and minority interests (PATAMI) to RM31.6 million from RM28.5 million in the same quarter last year.
The improved bottom-line grew on the back of an 11.7% revenue growth to RM309.3 million from RM276.9 million.
For the cumulative six months ended 30 June 2023 (6MFYE2023), Kerjaya’s revenue increased 5.0%, year on year, from RM577.5 million to RM606.5 million. In line with the higher revenue, PATAMI rose 6.2%, from RM57.4 million to RM61.0 million.
The enhanced financial performance was mainly attributed to the higher progress billings as a result of the improvement in progress of construction works activities.
The construction segment continues to be the main revenue contributor to the Group, contributing 99.8% of 6MFYE2023’s revenue. This trend is expected to continue in the future.
As at 30 June 2023, the Group’s balance sheet remained healthy with a net cash of RM203.7 million and a current ratio of 4.0 times.
Commenting on the results, Kerjaya CEO and Executive Director Tee Eng Tiong said, “Following the full resumption of construction site activities and the increased in workforce given the inflow of foreign workers, our financial performance is slowly returning back to pre-pandemic level with continuous revenue recognition from our construction segment.
Year to date, we have secured a total of RM983.8 million worth of contracts, which included a RM404.4 million contract from BCM Holdings Sdn Bhd for construction works in relation to a proposed residential development project in Kuala Lumpur. We are now very close to achieving our target win of RM1.2 billion worth of contract for this financial year and will continue our effort to reach our goal. We are also gradually expanding towards infrastructure projects with our 2 recent contracts received from Eastern & Oriental Express Sdn Bhd and Persada Mentari Sdn Bhd with accumulative contract sum of RM46.0 million.
These contract wins essentially showcase the industry’s confidence in Kerjaya’s execution strength, expertise and proven track record accomplished over the years. With this, the Group’s outstanding order book stood at RM4.5 billion as of 30 June 2023.”
He further added, “With the conclusion of the recent state elections, we are positive Malaysia will achieve political stability and attract more FDIs (“foreign direct investments”) into Malaysia. The increase in FDIs may therefore, translate into more construction job opportunities for Kerjaya in the near future.”
Kerjaya will be launching its new development project, Yakinland Development in the second half of 2023.
The Group has declared a second interim single-tier dividend of 2.0 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending 31 December 2023, which will be paid on 6 October 2023. This brings the total dividend declared to date for the current financial year to 4.0 sen per share.
