JCorp records higher pre-tax profit

JOHOR BARU: Johor Corp (JCorp), the state government’s development arm, recorded a 60.7% jump in pre-tax profit to RM868 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2012 (FY12) from RM540 million previously.

President and CEO Datuk Kamaruzzaman Abu Kassim said group revenue rose 11.2% to RM5.64 billion compared with RM5.07 billion a year ago.

“For this year we will continue to improve our financial performance through various group businesses, which will continue to achieve stable growth based on the 2012 financial results,” he said at the launch of the group’s FY12  annual report last Friday.

“We have also allocated RM838 million for capital expenditure this year and the group is targeting a growth of 10% to 15% this year, supported by the Economic Transformation Programme initiatives, which will drive Malaysia to a high-income nation,” he said.

He said JCorp is on a firm foundation to drive growth through its plantation, property development, healthcare and fast food restaurant businesses, on the back of an expanding economy.

On the plantation sector, although the palm oil industry is challenging, JCorp is optimistic of registering  commendable income this year, supported by competitive palm oil prices against the prices of other types of cooking oil.

In the services sector, the group will continue with its efforts to provide comprehensive healthcare services while offering sophisticated medical equipment at its chain of 20 private specialist hospitals.

JCorp is also considering taking over more hospitals in the near future in a bid to position itself as the top healthcare services provider in the country.

“We are also confident that our fast food restaurants will report encouraging results this year, driven by new strategies to strengthen our brand, new product launches, and the opening of 45 KFC and 50 Pizza Hut outlets in Malaysia and overseas,” he said. — Bernama

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on April 29, 2013.