A good start for YTL

Most sf4mfnts post improvf8 rfsults in 1Q

KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Corp Bhd, which has announced its financial results for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (1Q), remains hopeful for a strengthening in most of the business segments it operates in.

Executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said the group made a good start to the financial year 2023 (FY23), as better performances had been recorded across most of its business segments.

The diversified group said its revenue grew by 28% year-onyear (y-o-y) to Rm6.49bil for the quarter.

Net profit for the quarter fell to Rm36.6mil from Rm105.2mil in the same quarter a year ago, its stock exchange filings show.

Basic earnings per share stood at 0.33 sen compared with 0.96 sen previously.

“The group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation remained robust at Rm1.2bil for the quarter under review,” Yeoh said in a statement.

In terms of operations, the group’s pre-tax profit had been buoyed mainly by the cement and building materials segment, which grew 302%; while the hotel segment rose 331% y-o-y.

The cement and building material industry’s performance was reflective of normalising economic activity as the country moved towards endemicity, it said.

The group also noted that the hotel segment had benefited from an increase in revenue due to better performance of its hotels and resorts, following the easing of pandemic restrictions including the opening of international borders and the resumption of economic activities.

“The group is continuously taking steps to proactively manage the business and take necessary actions to ensure that its long-term prospects remain stable.

“Notwithstanding the short-term challenges, the group remains confident in the long-term prospects of the hospitality sector,” YTL said.

It said the construction segment remains committed to ensuring that all construction work-in-progress are on track and will be completed on time.

“This segment is expected to contribute positively based on its current order book,” YTL said in the notes accompanying its financial statements.

Meanwhile, YTL Power International Bhd’s (YTLP) net profit rose by 227% y-o-y to Rm167.6mil in the quarter on the back of revenue rising 35% y-o-y to Rm4.74bil.

Yeoh, who is also YTLP executive chairman, said the improved results were mainly due to the better performance of YTL Powerseraya Pte Ltd in Singapore.

“This was driven by higher pool and retail prices, with the Wessex Water Ltd and the Brabazon property project in the UK also contributing to the higher revenue,” he said.

On the performance of Malayan Cement Bhd, Yeoh who is also its executive chairman said improvements were recorded in the recent quarter due mainly to the full consolidation of the new cement and ready-mixed concrete businesses that were acquired in September 2021.

Malayan Cement’s revenue increased y-o-y by 202% to Rm858.9mil for the quarter.

It also posted a turnaround as pre-tax profit jumped 113% y-o-y to Rm4.1mil for the current quarter.

On YTL Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust’s (REIT) performance, Yeoh who is the executive chairman of Pintar Projek Sdn Bhd, the REIT’S manager, said: “Revenue and net property incomes from the trust’s hotel segment increased due to the reopening of international borders in early 2022, as demand from the corporate and leisure markets remained healthy in the current financial quarter.

“Meanwhile, distributable income increased due to the normalisation of rentals after the end of the rental deferral programme on June 30, 2022,” he added.

“The group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation remained robust at Rm1.2bil for the quarter under review.”

Tdn Sri Frdneis Yfo