Gabungan AQRS sees better FY18

KUALA LUMPUR (July 13): Gabungan AQRS Bhd’s net profit for the second financial quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18) more than doubled to RM19.1 million, from RM7.23 million a year ago, on higher revenue from both its construction and property development segments.

Quarterly revenue jumped 134% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM187.19 million, the group’s bourse filing yesterday showed.

For the cumulative six months ended June 30, 2018 (1HFY18), net profit jumped 52% y-o-y to RM35.57 million, as revenue strengthened 32% y-o-y to RM314.69 million.

Moving forward, Gabungan AQRS said the group anticipates a better financial performance in FY18 compared with FY17, as progress of construction of its ongoing jobs picks up pace.

It envisions a RM1.5 billion rise in new construction order book in FY18.

As at June 30, the group’s construction order book stood at RM2.5 billion, which would sustain its earnings momentum till 2021. It is targeting to secure more infrastructure-related jobs.

Gabungan AQRS also believes it would stand to benefit with a more transparent project tendering process, given its strong technical capability, a good track record and a solid financial position.

Its unbilled property sales stood at RM127.6 million as at June 30, while it has RM485.7 million worth of unsold property units.

The group expects its property development arm to be a significant contributor to cashflow from 2019 to 2022, driven by current completed-but-unsold inventories, future sales of The Peak and progress billings from its latest property development, E’Island Residence.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 13, 2018.

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