Scientex was among the top gainers as investors were positive about its purchase of Mondi Ipoh Sdn Bhd (MISB) for RM58mil cash to expand its consumer packaging division.
KUALA LUMPUR: Scientex Bhd
's earnings rose by 33.2% to RM72.13mil in the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2017, boosted by its consumer and industrial packaging products and also its property business.
It said on Tuesday the earnings rose from RM54.13mil a year ago. Revenue was up 15.1% to RM646.06mil from RM561.06mil.
Operating profit rose 15.4% to RM85.50mil from RM74.09mil. Earnings per share were 15.02 sen from 11.77 sen. It announced a dividend of 10 sen a share.
Its manufacturing revenue increased by 16.8% to RM435.3mil from RM372.7mil a year ago mainly due to higher contribution from both the consumer and industrial packaging products.
Scientex said the group has started to see higher demand from its diverse range of products mainly due to the increased capacity of its plants. Export sales rose 20.1% from a year ago.
Its property revenue rose 11.9% to RM210.8mil from RM188.4mil. Profit from operations increased from RM58.2mil to RM66.7mil mainly due to good take up rate for products launched as well as strong progress billings in all the property developments.
For the FY ended July 31, 2017, its earnings rose 6.2% to RM255.87mil from RM240.86mil in FY16.
It recorded the highest revenue of RM2.40bil, up 9.2% from RM2.20bil due to better sales from its manufacturing and property segments.
“In line with the higher sales recorded in current financial year under review, the operating profit has also increased from RM312.6mil to RM325.1mil,” it said.
On the outlook, Scientex said its new stretch film manufacturing plant in Phoenix, Arizona in the US was expected to have a commercial rollout by first quarter of calendar year 2018. The US plant was part of the group's move to be near its customers and its sources of raw materials as well as access to other new customers in the region.
“With the commissioning of its biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) and cast polypropylene (CPP) plants as well as the increased capacity of its Ipoh plants, the group’s strategy is to focus on volume based converter market within Southeast Asia and Asia Pacific regions by developing sales networks with new distributors and wholesalers,” it said.
Scientex said it was confident that by optimising the production output, it would be able to manage the operation costs better and improve its operational margins.
As for the property business, it would continue to focus on affordable housing while seeking for reasonably priced landbank.
“The group will continue to launch its affordable housing products in its recently acquired 197.4 acres of land in Durian Tunggal, Melaka and its 121.2 acres of land in Mukim Kulai, Johor which are slated for their respective first launches this coming financial year 2018,” it said.
It added that its conditional purchase of about 65.3 acres land in Rawang, Selangor woould enable it to meet the unrelenting demand for affordable housing in the vicinity of Rawang, Selangor as well as the greater Klang Valley region.
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