Tomei profit up on firmer gold prices
KUALA LUMPUR: Tomei Consolidated Bhd’s (TCB) first-quarter profit for the period ended March 31 grew 18.8 per cent to RM2.98 million compared with the same period last year, helped by the increase in global gold prices.
In its filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Tomei said first-quarter revenue was, however, 4.4 per cent lower at RM143.332 million from RM149.95 million previously.
Earlier at the company’s shareholders meeting, group managing director Datuk Ng Yih Pyng said for the financial year end- ed December 31 last year, Tomei’s net profit decreased in tandem with lower gold prices in the international market.
“This year, we’ve seen gold prices started to firm up again. This is reflected in our first-quarter profit as our jewellery are marked to market,” he said.
Also present at the briefing were TCB chairman Tan Sri Ng Teck Fong and independent nonexecutive director Lau Tiang Hua.
Ng said gold was generally perceived as a “safe haven” asset and as the United States-China trade war escalated over the weekend, traders started switching out of equities to less risky ones, such as bonds and gold.
The negative sentiment arising from concerns over the impact of the US-China trade war on global growth helped lift spot gold prices to US$1,283 (RM5,353.57) per ounce yesterday from around US$1,270 earlier this month.
Currently, the jeweller’s network of 58 outlets are operating under the brand names “Tomei”, “My Diamond”, “Goldheart”, “Le Lumiere” and “De Beers”.
Ng also said the company was converting the My Diamond outlets to either Tomei or Goldheart to better streamline its image.
“We are streamlining our operations and the conversion of My Diamond stores should be completed by year-end.”
There are currently four My Diamond outlets with the last outlet tenancy expiring in September.
Established in the early 2000s, My Diamond caters to the working class and focuses on white gold products, which was relatively a niche segment among Malaysians then.
“We’re allocating up to RM3 million in capital expenditure this year for these rebranding and adding a new outlet in Bintulu, Sarawak,” he said.