WCT and Bina Puri are among the more active contractors in Sabah over the past few years
KUALA LUMPUR: WCT Holdings Bhd
's net profit for its second quarter ended June 30, 2017, fell 33% to RM21.48mil from the previous corresponding quarter on the back of lower revenue.
The group also posted an unrealised foreign exchange gain on net profit of RM16.2mil.
Revenue for the current quarter was RM383mil, as compared to RM581mil in the year-ago period. Year to date, revenue has fallen 19.6% to RM857mil owing to the completion of a building project.
For the first six months of the financial year, the group's engineering and construction segment saw a year-on-year increase in operating profit to RM53mil from RM33mil, mainly attributable to stronger contribution from local construction projects with healthy margins.
Meanwhile, the property development and investment segment saw a decrease in operating profit to RM43mil from RM50mil owing to lower margins.
Year to date, earnings per share increased to 4.13 sen from 3.31 sen in the previous corresponding period.
Looking ahead, the group expects its engineering and construction division to build on its order book and for overall construction margin to improve given the higher propertion of infrastructure-related jobs.
The property investment and management division, however, will be adopting a more cautious approach in its project launches for the remainder of th eyear but will intensify its marketing and sales initiatives.
"Moving forward, the group will continue to embark on various de-gearing initiatives such as equity fundraising as well as assets monetisation which are expected to strengthen its financial position and improve its gearing level," the group said.
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