Perstima to expand into Philippine market

PETALING JAYA: Perusahaan Sadur Timah Bhd (Perstima), which saw its net profit more than tripled for the second quarter ended Sept 30, is planning to set up a new plant to manufacture and supply tinplate and tin free steel in the Philippines.

Its new subsidiary, however, is subject to the approval of the local authorities.

Perstima sees a potential market in the Philippines, where currently tinplate and tin free steel in the country are being sourced from other countries.

The annual domestic demand is about 220,000 metric tonnes (MT) comprising 170,000MT and 50,000MT of tinplate and tin free steel respectively.

“In addition, there would be incentives for tinplate and tin free steel manufacturers as a base industry to be provided by the government of the Philippines to support the Philippines economy if the proposed investment meets the criteria set,” it added.

Perstima’s net earnings stood at RM12.24 million for the July-Sept period against RM3.54 million in the same quarter a year ago, due to higher sales and profit margin.

Revenue for the quarter under review grew 15.9% to RM271.52 million from RM234.34 million.

Its six-month net profit almost quadrupled to RM24.38 million from RM6.35 million, with revenue expanding 8.2% to RM510.36 million from RM471.84 million.

The stock gained 2.88% to close at RM4.65 with 23,100 shares done.