Gamuda on track to achieve Rm25bil order book

KUALA LUMPUR: Gamuda Bhd has clinched Rm15bil worth of construction orders, putting it on track to achieve its target of a cumulative Rm25bil order book for the two financial years to July 31, 2023.

The orders were secured from its key markets for construction, namely Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia, its group managing director Datuk Lin Yun Ling said.

“We remain cautiously optimistic about our prospects in the coming years, but we are reasonably well-placed to ride out the storms ahead given our strategic plays in various regional markets, our strong financial position and our earnings visibility from our outstanding order book and unbilled sales,” he said in the company’s latest annual report.

He said Gamuda has widened its horizons as it continued to advance its regionalisation strategy and has broken multiple earnings records across the group’s business divisions.

“Most significantly, we ended the financial year ended July 31, 2022 with a group pre-tax profit that crossed the Rm1bil mark for the first time and a historically high construction order book of over Rm15bil following a string of contract wins over the year,” he said.

Gamuda recorded a group pre-tax profit of Rm1.02bil in financial year 2022 while the full-year net profit rose 37% to a record Rm806.23mil.

Commenting on its property development, Lin said Gamuda has identified quick turnaround projects and plans to invest Rm5bil in the projects over the next few years as a key enabler of growth, with a strategic focus on expansion in various nations that it is familiar with and well-versed in.

“By operating in a few strategic markets, we are minimising our business risk by lessening the impact, if individual markets experience a slowdown in their property cycle,” he added.

On its highway concession division, Lin explained that Gamuda has ironed out the details of the divestment of its four highways to Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat Bhd.

“In October 2022, the sale was successfully completed and although Gamuda will lose the steady recurring income from the sale of our concessions, we started preparing for this eventuality some years ago.

“As such, we do not expect an earnings void following this divestment, given our anticipated earnings growth on the back of substantial revenue growth from our other two core businesses,” he said.

In the long term, he said, Gamuda plans to invest in renewable energy and other green verticals, which have the potential to contribute a baseline of recurring income for the group while enabling it to fulfill its sustainability commitments.