Pos Malaysia sees RM485mil erased from market cap

PETALING JAYA: Pos Malaysia Bhd saw RM485.32mil erased from its market capitalisation as investors sold their shares after it swung into the red in the second quarter ended Sept 30.

At market close, Pos Malaysia was down 62 sen or 19.4% to RM2.58, the lowest since June 2016. It fell to an intra-day low of RM2.57.

Based on the loss of 62 sen a share, the market capitalisation was reduced to RM2.019bil.

The company posted a net loss of RM16.58mil in its second quarter, from a net profit of RM18.83mil in the previous corresponding quarter.

The net loss was due to the lower revenue registered from postal services and the international and logistics segments, coupled with the increase in the cost of sales and operating expenses as well as finance costs.

Pos Malaysia said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia that its revenue was marginally up 0.27% to RM588.73mil, mainly propped up by its courier segment.

The courier service was backed by increased demand in e-commerce as well as online business customers.

As of Sept 30, Pos Malaysia had cash of RM292mil compared with RM327.74mil in the same period of the previous year.

For the six-month period, Pos Malaysia recorded a net loss of RM11.6mil from a net profit of RM54.75mil previously. Revenue was down 1.63% to RM1.18bil.

The segments in which it did well were almost similar to the compa- ny’s second quarter.

Looking ahead, Pos Malaysia said the robust growth in e-commerce continued to be the key revenue generator for its courier business segment.

This is driven by its extensive last-mile network and infrastructure in the country.

Conversely, its postal services business segment is facing unprecedented challenges due to the accelerating decline in mail volumes and also lower retail transactions at its post offices.