UMW income surges to Rm110mil

PETALING JAYA: UMW Holdings Bhd posted a net profit of Rm110.3mil for the third quarter ended Sept 30 - its highest in the last four quarters.

In a statement, the company said this was supported by stable revenue and profit before taxation (PBT) from the manufacturing & engineering (M&E) segment.

The automotive and equipment segments, however, registered lower revenue and PBT due to sluggish demand in the current quarter.

UMW’S revenue from continuing operations decreased by 12.4% year-on-year to Rm2.88bil, while PBT contracted by 15.2% to Rm150.3mil.

President and group CEO Badrul Feisal Abdul Rahim (pic) said that the group is implementing strategic and innovative initiatives through its transformation agenda which have seen promising results so far in delivering greater value to shareholders.

It is also implementing cost optimisation initiatives to improve its business performance and operational productivity, he added.

“The automotive segment will focus on introducing new, appealing and value-for-money models to remain competitive in the Malaysian automotive industry, supported by our new automotive assembly plant in Bukit Raja.

Expansion of products and rental business are expected to drive the performance of the industrial equipment sub-segment, while heavy ebusiness may benefit from the recent revival of some infrastructure projects in Malaysia.

“Meanwhile, the outlook for the M&E segment remains upbeat as we continue to ramp-up production and delivery of fan cases to Rolls-royce, whilst demand for auto components products and lubricants is expected to be sustainable over the long term,” Badrul said.