IJM Q3 earnings nearly halve to RM49.8 million

PETALING JAYA: IJM Corp Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2019 fell 46.7% to RM49.77 million from RM93.42 million a year ago due to higher share of losses of associates.

The group posted revenue of RM1.44 billion, a decrease of 4.4% over RM1.51 billion achieved previously, on the back of lower contribution from property development and manufacturing & quarrying divisions.

For the nine-month period, IJM’s net profit rose by 0.7% to RM179.29 million from RM178.11 million last year, with revenue up 7% to RM4.56 billion from RM4.26 billion.

On prospects, the group’s construction division expects a challenging year in view of the subdued property market and reduced infrastructure spending by the government.

The local property market is also expected to remain challenging although consumer sentiments have improved. However, with the potential conversion of unbilled sales of about RM1.9 billion, the division is expected to maintain a satisfactory performance in the current financial year.

The group’s industry division will continue with its mitigation efforts through the improvement of product quality, cost and process efficiency.

For the plantation division, despite continued cost pressures arising mainly from wage increases, the prevailing commodity prices and foreign exchange rates particularly that of the rupiah against the US dollar and the Japanese yen are expected to contribute to an improved performance for the financial year.

It also noted that the toll and port operations continue to provide recurrent revenue streams as existing concessions mature and thereby further enhancing the earnings of the group’s infrastructure division.