HSS quarterly net profit down on expenses

PETALING JAYA: HSS Engineers Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter slid 72.1% to RM881,000 due to one-off expenses relating to its acquisition of SMHB Engineering Sdn Bhd.

Excluding the RM2.51mil expenses related to the acquisition, the group recorded profit after tax of RM3.4mil for the period, which was an increase of 7.3% from a year ago.

In a filing with the stock exchange, the group said the increased profit after tax was attributed to higher gross profit achieved from its engineering services division, coupled with lower other operating expenses.

The acquisition of SMHB Engineering, an engineering and project management consultancy firm specialising in the water industry, was completed in March 2018.

HSS Engineers’ revenue for the period ended March 31, 2018, was up 16.2% to RM34.01mil.

Moving forward, the group said it would be able to leverage on SMHB Engineering’s expertise and track record in the water sector to win tenders for water-related contracts.

It expected the government to accelerate spending on water services sector given its strategic importance to the country.

“Post acquisition, we expect the synergy created from both leading engineering consultancy firms will take our group to greater heights which shall translate into record revenue and profits,” it pointed out.

Among its future plans are to continue to enhance its Building Information Modeling services which will be made mandatory in 2019 for public projects in Malaysia worth RM100mil.

The company said it was also looking at expanding into Asean countries and India, as well as to venture into the provision of support services to the power generation sector.