PETALING JAYA: Protasco Bhd
posted net losses of RM801,000 in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2018 which was a contrast from the net profit of RM10.3mil a year ago as its core businesses reported a decline.
Protasco, whose core activites are road maintenance, construction, property development and education, said on Tuesday its revenue fell 22% to RM234.88mil from RM301.23mil a year ago.
Its loss per share was 0.16 sen compared with earnings per share of 2.08 sen.
“The prospects of the group for the remaining quarter is expected to continue to be challenging due to delays in commencement of certain projects and the allocation of funding under the maintenance segment,” it said.
For the nine months ended Sept 30, it reported a net loss of RM3.90mil due to losses from the property development, education and construction segments compared with net profit of RM21.48mil in the previous corresponding period. Its revenue fell 3% to RM634.53mil from RM653.16mil.
Q3 performance – Maintenance
Under the maintenance segment, revenue increased by 5% in Q3 due to periodic works awarded in the first quarter and carried forward to the current quarter.
Profit before tax in Q3 fell to RM13.73mil from RM18.79mil a year ago while revenue also declined to RM151.18mil from RM181.86mil.
Construction
This segment report loss before tax of RM4.79mil compared with a profit before tax of RM4.76mil a year ago due to cost overrun for certain completed projects and overheads. Revenue rose to RM81.13mil from RM47.72mil.
Protasco’s ongoing projects for this segment includes Perumahan Penjawat Awam Phase 2 (PPAP2), drainage and irrigation and overseas projects in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Property development
For the property development segment, revenue was derived only from rental of its investment properties with losses due to overheads and interest expenses.
It posted pretax loss of RM1.60mil compared with profit before tax of RM297,000 a year ago. Revenue was higher at RM1.03mil compared with RM640,000.
Engineering
Its engineering services posted profit before tax of RM2.59mil, down from RM5.11mil a year ago. Revenue was lower at RM14.98mil compared with RM18.97mil. The weaker performance was due to the fewer geotechnical works awarded.
Trading and manufacturing
The trading and manufacturing segment posted pre-tax loss of RM129,000 compared with RM1.06mil a year ago. Revenue fell to RM33.53mil from RM58.53mil.
Education
The education segment posted profit before tax of RM1.54mil compared with RM484,000 while revenue delcined to RM14.63mil from RM16.73mil.
Protasco said the education segment was impacted by a drop in student population but it expects the student intake to improve in the November 2018 semester.
Outlook
On the outlook, Protasco said the prospects for the remaining quarter was expected to continue to be challenging due to delays in commencement of certain projects and the allocation of funding under the maintenance segment.
“Nevertheless, the group is actively pursuing various other opportunities to improve the construction and maintenance segments.
“The on-going works on Perumahan Penjawat Awam Phase 2 is progressing as scheduled and is expected to contribute positively to the group. Maintenance segment is expected to be the main revenue contributor to the group.
“With the introduction of cost optimisation in the education segment, the operating overheads are expected to be lower and enable it to return to profitability.
“In addition, the group has also undertaken the right sizing of its operations to meet the challenging business environment in the near future,” it said.
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
