Kumpulan Euro in the red in Q3

KUALA LUMPUR: Kumpulan Europlus Bhd, which is building the RM5.98bil West Coast Expressway, posted net losses of RM896,000 in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2015.

It said on Wednesday the losses compared with earnings of RM14.72mil a year ago  due mainly the reversal of the interest income earned on placement of borrowed funds in excess of borrowings and lower share of results in associates in the current quarter.

The property-construction company said there was a share of results of associates of RM960,000 compared with the RM16.66mil a year ago. Its revenue was RM149.87mil compared with only RM1.76mil a year ago. Loss per share was 0.09 sen compared with earnings per share of 1.47 sen.

In the nine months ended Dec 31, 2015, it reported earnings of RM25.01mil compared with RM62.40mil in the previous corresponding period. Share of results from associates was only RM16.93mil compared with 29.97mil a year ago.

Its revenue was RM374mil compared with RM7.04mil. 

KEuro said the WCE project, stretching from Banting, Selangor to Taiping, Perak is a build-operate-transfer project with a concession period of up to a maximum of 60 years. 

“The total project cost is approximately RM5,900 million and revenue from sectional toll collections is expected to commence in 2018. The construction commencement date was set on Aug 25, 2014 and will take five years to complete. Currently, the construction is ongoing,” it said.

As for the property market, Kumpulan Euro expected it to remain soft due to the weak consumer sentiment coupled with stringent mortgage approval regulations.

“Given the challenging market conditions, Bandar Rimbayu’s financial performance is expected to be weaker for the current financial year,” it said.