Pos Malaysia delivers better net profit in Q1

PETALING JAYA: Pos Malaysia Bhd’s net profit in the first quarter ended June 30 improved by 19.06% to RM 37.91 million from RM31.84 million in the same period last year on the back of higher revenue and better cost management.

Revenue increased by 47.07% to RM611.62 million from RM415.86 million in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter due to the inclusion of the logistics services that were acquired in the third quarter of last year.

“The revenue growth in the first quarter of our current financial year was largely driven by the inclusion of revenues from the Pos Aviation Group (formerly KL Airport Services Group) that was completed in September 2016 as part of our strategy to transform the Pos Malaysia Group to become a fully-integrated logistics services provider in the e-commerce ecosystem.

“We are confident that our value proposition as a fully-integrated ecommerce logistics player will continue to become more valuable as e-commerce continues its growth trajectory in Malaysia and the region going forward,” group CEO Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh said in a statement.

Its board of directors said in a Bursa Malaysia filing that prospects are positive for the remaining financial year due to recent upbeat global and domestic economic sentiments, which supports the growth of ecommerce that Pos Malaysia touts as the key driver for its revenue growth.

Furthermore, the Digital Free Trade Zone incentive, rebounds in exports and imports and continued roll out of transport infrastructure projects by the government are also seen as positive supporting factors for its business.

While the group foresees its aviation segment providing steady returns under the current operating conditions, its traditional mail segment is expected go through challenges.

Pos Malaysia’s shares gained 1.37 % to close at RM5.19 with some 108,100 shares changing hands. Its market capitalisation stood at RM4.06 billion.