Kitacon closed at 75 sen yesterday. It was the most actively traded stock with 156.70 million shares traded.
PETALING JAYA: Kumpulan Kitacon Bhd
, which debuted on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia with a premium of 45.6% yesterday, is looking to grow its revenue back to pre-pandemic levels of over RM550mil.
Kitacon, a G7 licence holder that allows it to tender for construction projects of unlimited value, made a strong debut on the Main Market at 99 sen per share, 31 sen higher over its initial public offering price of 68 sen.
Kitacon closed at 75 sen yesterday. It was also the most actively traded stock with 156.70 million shares traded.
Managing director Tan Ah Kee believes that it is a good opportunity for the company to achieve sustainable growth in its revenue after going public.
“We will continue to work hard with the same resolute focus to deliver sustainable growth. We believe Kitacon will grow in strength over the coming years and aim to reward our shareholders for their trust and confidence in accordance with our dividend policy to pay out at least 25% of the profit after tax,” Tan said at the listing ceremony.
Kitacon has seen its revenue decreasing gradually over the past few financial years, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
For the third quarter of its financial year 2022 (3Q22), the group posted a revenue of RM116.1mil, bringing the topline for its nine- month financial period ended Sept 30, 2022 to RM350.8mil.
Commenting on 4Q22, Tan said Kitacon is hoping to post results that are in line with its expectations, which is somewhat similar to its 3Q22 results.
On its outlook, Tan said the construction sector remained very bullish and the group expects more projects to come in. “Our tender book is about RM3bil, with a past success rate of about 25% to 30%,” he said.
Currently, the bulk or 98% of its revenue is generated from projects in Selangor, while the remaining 2% comes from projects in Negri Sembilan and Johor. On expansion to other states, Tan said it depends on the availability of resources and opportunities.
