KUALA LUMPUR: Press Metal Bhd
's second quarterly earnings for the period ended June 30, 2014 jumped 200% to RM60.03mil from RM20.04mil a year ago, due to higher aluminium selling price and sales volume.
It said on Tuesday revenue grew 25.7% to RM1bil from RM795.34mil a year ago, mainly due to its Bintulu smelting plant, which achieved full operation in the fourth quarter for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2013.
Earnings per share was 11.57 sen compared with 3.95 sen a year before. It declared an interim dividend of five sen a share.
Shares in Press Metal Bhd have climbed to an all-time high at RM6.10, in anticipation of the improved results.
Its first half yearly net profit jumped 94.4% to RM88.06mil from RM45.29mil in the previous corresponding period. Revenue increased by 19.8% to RM1.897bil from RM1.52bil a year ago.
Moving forward, Press Metal expects aluminium price to remain firm for the remainder of the year, following a deficit in production resulting from some western smelters reducing capacity at the start of the year.
"World aluminium consumption was estimated to be up by 6.8% year-on-year," the company added.
