Wing Tai returns to the black in 3QFY17

KUALA LUMPUR (May 16): Wing Tai Malaysia Bhd returned to the black in the third financial quarter ended March 31, 2017 (3QFY17), posting a net profit of RM12.26 million against a net loss of RM941,000 a year earlier.

Quarterly revenue rose 35.4% to RM84.62 million from RM62.48 million in 3QFY16.

The group did not declare any dividend for the quarter under review.

For the cumulative nine-month period (9MFY17), the group posted a net profit of RM26.04 million, up 21.7% from RM21.39 million a year ago. Revenue rose 12.6% from RM213.36 million in 9MFY17 to RM240.34 million in 9MFY16.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Wing Tai said the property development division posted a lower operating profit of RM13.9 million in 9MFY17 from RM19 million in 9MFY16, as it recognised net claims against a contractor arising from the settlement of final contract accounts for one of the group’s completed projects in the corresponding period a year ago.

Revenue from the division improved by 82.7% to RM98.5 million from RM53.9 million, on increased revenue contribution from the BM Mahkota and Bukit Minyak Utama projects, coupled with the sale of Sering Ukay’s vacant land in Bandar Ulu Kelang.

On the other hand, the group noted that operating profit from its retail division was 52.2% higher at RM14 million against RM9.2 million in 9MFY16, due to better profit margin resulting from a more stable foreign currency exchange and better control of overhead costs.

However, revenue from the retail segment was down 11.1% to RM122.3 million from RM137.5 million.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 16, 2017.

For more stories, download TheEdgeProperty.com pullout here for free.