BCorp sinks into the red in fourth quarter

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) sank into the red, suffering a net loss of RM95.19mil in its fourth quarter ended April 30, compared with a net profit of RM3.24mil in the previous corresponding period, mainly due to a significant drop in profit from operations.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the company said this was mainly due to lower contributions from the retail distribution business, property investment and development business, hotel and resorts business as well as gaming operations.

“Excluding the impairment provision of various assets and unfavourable foreign exchange difference of about RM101mil, the group would have recorded a pre-tax profit of about RM57.95mil.

“The lower revenue achieved in the quarter as mentioned in the previous paragraph resulted in the reduction of pre-tax results,” it said. Revenue in the fourth quarter dropped to RM2.11bil from RM2.23bil a year earlier.

For the financial year ended April 30, 2018, BCorp recorded a net loss of RM377.07mil compared with a net profit of RM149.29mil in the previous corresponding period, while revenue slipped to RM8.67bil from RM9.18bil before.

BCorp said the marketing of consumer products and services segment reported a lower revenue in the current financial year as compared to the previous year, as the retail distribution business was affected by weak consumer spending sentiment, particularly in the local market.

“In addition, the intense competition in China also contributed to the decrease in revenue in the current financial year.

“The motor distribution business recorded a marginal drop in revenue mainly due to the drop in sales volume of its new car sector in the current financial year. The property investment and development segment registered lower revenue in the current year, as the remaining units of a property project in China were disposed of in the previous financial year.” Though the marketing of consumer products and service segment was significantly impacted, BCorp said the other segments showed improvement in revenue.

“The restaurants and cafes segment reported a higher revenue mainly due to additional Starbucks cafes operating in the current year, as well as same-store-sales growth.

“The hotels and resorts segment reported a higher revenue mainly due to higher occupancy rates and room rates in the current financial year, as well as the full year’s revenue contribution from a new hotel which started operations in the second quarter of the previous financial year.”

BCorp said the higher revenue from the gaming operations was mainly due to the fullyear’s revenue contribution from the Vietnam operations, which started its operations in the second quarter of the previous financial year.

On its prospects, the company said: “Given the prevailing economic conditions and global financial outlook, the directors are of the view that the group’s operating environment will be challenging, going forward.”