Berjaya Corp swings back into profit in 3Q

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) expects its business segments to improve going forward, underpinned by strong consumer spending, rebound of tourism activities and better-than-expected labour market conditions.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, BCorp said it will monitor the prevailing global and local political development in the countries where it has business operations.

“Taking into account of the aforesaid and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the directors are cautiously optimistic that the performance of the business operations of the group for the remaining quarter of the financial year ending June 30, 2023 to be satisfactory.”

For its third quarter ended March 31, 2023, BCorp reported a net profit of RM3.26mil, compared with a net loss of RM35.89mil in the previous corresponding period, while revenue during the quarter rose to RM2.50bil compared with RM2.42bil a year earlier.

BCorp said the higher revenue was contributed by the hospitality, property and food retail business segments.

“The higher revenue reported by the food retail business was mainly due to the opening of new Starbucks cafes in the current quarter.”

Additionally, BCorp said its property segment reported higher revenue in the current quarter mainly due to higher property progress billings registered from its local project at The Tropika, Bukit Jalil, as well as the higher revenue arising from the disposal of several parcels of land.

“The hospitality segment reported higher revenue mainly due to the higher overall occupancy rates and average room rates as compared to the previous year's corresponding quarter.”

BCorp added that its services segment reported a decrease in revenue in the current quarter.

“This was mainly due to the lower revenue reported by the gaming operations, which was operated by STM Lottery Sdn Bhd.

“The lower revenue was primarily due to the current quarter having a lesser number of draws as compared to the previous year's corresponding quarter.”

During the third quarter, the company reported a basic earnings per share of 0.06 sen versus a loss per share of 0.62 sen previously.

For the nine-months period ended March 31, 2023, BCorp reported a net loss of RM37.97mil against a net profit of RM5.8mil in the previous corresponding period, while revenue rose to RM7.08bil compared with RM5.86bil a year earlier.

Going forward, BCorp said Malaysia's economic growth is expected to moderate in 2023, underpinned by strong domestic demand and the moderation of average inflation rate despite the uncertainties in global economic conditions.

“The number forecast operator business industry in Malaysia continues to be vigilant and to navigate carefully through changes in the local government policies,” it said.