A strong start

DESPITE the extension granted by Bursa Malaysia to report the quarterly results for the period ended March 31, 2021 to the end of this month, most corporates have been diligent enough to meet the original dateline, and hence, we have a good picture of corporate Malaysia’s performance for the recently concluded earnings season.

For the first quarter (Q1) itself, the economy as a whole performed better than expected, as the Q1 gross domestic product (GDP) came in at a 0.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) contraction against a forecast of a 1.9% decline, as the pace of economic recovery gathered momentum. This was despite the MCO 2.0 period that was imposed for about two months, especially in the Klang Valley and selected other states.