Priceworth Q4 net profit rises to RM3.54mil

PETALING JAYA: Timber and sustainable forestry group Priceworth International Bhd has recorded a 15.79% higher net profit in its fourth quarter ended June 30, despite a lower top line in the three-month period.

The Sabah-based company said in a Bursa Malaysia filing that its earnings rose to RM3.54mil from RM3.06mil a year earlier, on the back of substantially higher other income.

Revenue in the quarter dropped by about 27% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM43mil due to the decrease in production volume.

According to Priceworth executive director Richard Koo, the group’s results were impacted in the final quarter of financial year 2018 (FY18) primarily due to the ban on the export of round logs from Sabah, which commenced in June 2018.

“We had previously ramped up and accumulated export-grade logs which we were unable to export this quarter, resulting in demurrage and shipping costs which were beyond our expectations. To address this, we have channelled these logs into our plant for downstream products, but there is a lag factor on conversion timing.

“Our operations were also affected by some temporary interruptions in July to facilitate the widely reported verifications on major timber players conducted by authorities.

“As such, the supply of logs in the market has reduced, and the silver lining is that this has elevated the selling prices of round logs, plywood and sawn timber products,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Cumulatively, for FY18, the timber company’s net profit almost tripled to RM13.84mil from RM4.7mil in the previous financial year.

The surge in earnings was mainly due to higher other income and the improvement in revenue.

The company’s full-year revenue was up by 1.88% y-o-y to RM173.37mil.

Moving into FY19, Priceworth expects its performance to improve, barring any unforeseen circumstances.