BDB issues maiden RM50m sukuk
Optimism on back of solid outstanding order book of RM868m
IKHMAS Jaya Group Bhd, which currently has an outstanding order book of RM868 million, expects another strong performance this year.
The company is also upbeat on posting double-digit revenue growth for the financial year ending December 31 this year (FY17), on the back of the outstanding order book.
“We believe the company will have another (strong) financial performance attributable to our healthy order book,” said group managing director Datuk Ang Cheng Siong after the company’s annual general meeting, here, yesterday.
Ang added that Ikhmas Jaya is expected to record between seven and nine per cent growth in annual net profit from secured contract margins.
“The government is currently aggressive on investing in infrastructure projects. The company specialises in bore piling and bridge works and we believe our expertise is needed for the infrastructure projects.
“However, we have to be selective in running projects to reduce risks. We maintain (our status) as a special sub-contract for bore piling and bridge works,” he said.
The company is also eyeing the Gemas-Johor Baru DoubleTracking Line and East Coast Rail Link projects.
“Most of our secured contracts are from the private sector (and) we believe that contract works for the private sector will pick up this year, in terms of tenders,” he said.
However, Ang pointed out that the ratio of government and private infrastructure projects will be 50:50, as both will complement the country’s overall development plans.
“We currently utilise 100 per cent of our construction equipment. We maximise our resources to operate efficiently with a cost reduction mechanism,” he said.
On whether the company has incurred losses due to the ringgit’s volatility, Ang added that most of the company’s construction materials are locally-sourced.
Ang said Ikhmas Jaya is not focused on building entire construction projects, hence, it is not much impacted by the ringgit’s fluctuations.
Meanwhile, Ikhmas Jaya is tendering for about RM2.7 billion of mixed infrastructure projects for both public and private sectors.
On the potential of overseas expansion, Ang said the company would focus on the domestic market, spurred by continued public and private infrastructure developments.
Ikhmas Jaya’s revenue rose 42.11 per cent to RM72.59 in the first quarter ended March 31 this year, compared with RM51.08 million in the corresponding period a year ago.
It said the higher revenue was due to a rise in its order book in the first quarter. It, however, posted a net loss of RM1.81 million compared with a net profit of RM4.31 million previously.