Pintaras Jaya 1Q net profit nearly doubles on higher construction activities

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 18): Pintaras Jaya Bhd, a piling and civil engineering services provider, saw its net profit for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2016 (1QFY17) nearly doubled to RM13.2 million or 8.1 sen per share from RM6.72 million or 4.1 sen a year ago.

In its quarterly report to Bursa Malaysia today, the group attributed the higher profitability to increased construction activities and higher progress profits recognised from ongoing projects, which have advanced beyond the initial stages of implementation.

Pintaras Jaya's revenue for 1QFY17 also grew by 67.03% to RM59.73 million from RM35.76 million in previous corresponding quarter.

Moving forward, the group expects its construction business to perform well for the rest of FY17 based on current order book and "satisfactory" tender book value.

"Despite the slowdown in the property market, the local construction industry outlook remains bright for the coming year as the government continues to focus on major infrastructure projects under Budget 2017," it said.

"Various projects such as the Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) Line 2, Light Rail Transport (LRT) Line 3, Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (DASH), Sungai Besi-Ulu Klang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) and Pan Borneo Highway will involve substantial substructure works and certainly contribute significantly to the overall strength of the piling industry," it added.

Pintaras Jaya also said a slew of new mega projects such as Bandar Malaysia, Rubber Research Institute, MRT Line 3, High Speed Rail and the East Coast Rail Line projects are awaiting implementation.

"Human resource remains the most critical challenge and recruitment at all levels remains difficult. Wage inflation issues continue to escalate. Our manufacturing business continues to slow down and selling prices are falling due to intense competition and the generally subdued sentiment in the market," the group acknowledged.

Overall, the group's board of directors expects financial performance for FY17 will be "good".

Pintaras Jaya fell five sen or 1.43% to close at RM3.45 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM564.93 million.