Swift Haulage group chief executive officer Loo Yong Hui
PETALING JAYA: Swift Haulage Bhd
expects the logistics business environment to remain challenging.
Nevertheless, the company said it is well positioned to navigate through this challenging period, as it continues to strategise, adapt and take timely appropriate measures to minimise operating risks.
“Barring any unforeseen surprises, we are cautiously confident of our financial performance for the financial year,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
For its first quarter ended March 31, 2023, Swift Haulage reported a lower net profit of RM10.13mil compared with RM14.31mil in the previous corresponding period,
Revenue was higher at RM169.38mil compared with RM160.30mil a year earlier.
Basic earnings per share stood at 1.15 sen versus 1.61 sen previously.
Group chief executive officer Loo Yong Hui said: “In what is a seasonally weaker first half, results for 1Q23 have been commendable. Group revenue amounted to a record high of RM169mil as all business segments benefitted from the stabilisation in economic activities.”
“Despite the growth in revenue, profitability continues to be impacted by the uptick in interest rates and overheads due to our ongoing capacity expansion.
“Our overall performance continues to be driven by growth in business activities, our expansion of fleet of prime movers for the land transportation division as well as the increased capacity of our warehouse footprint.”
“Swift continues to benefit from the normalisation and improvement in economic activities. With the easing of Covid-19 restrictions globally and the re-opening in China, this momentum is expected to continue in the coming financial year,” Loo said in a statement.
On the domestic front, he said the demand for warehousing remained strong.
“We are in a prime position to capitalise on this as our expansion has added approximately 46.0% increase in warehousing capacity in FY22.
“Looking forward to the rest of FY23, plans are underway to expand our warehousing capacity further, with the addition of one warehouse in Mak Mandin, Penang (150,000 sq ft) and Pulau Indah, Selangor (250,000 sq ft). This will increase our total warehouse capacity by 30.7% to approximately 1.6 million sq ft,” he added.
