PETALING JAYA: Swift Haulage Bhd
’s earnings prospects remain mixed, with downside risks arising from softer container haulage volumes, margin pressure from land transport and warehousing, says MBSB Research.
The group’s container haulage volumes are expected to be softer year-on-year (y-o-y) in the fourth quarter of financial year 2025 (4Q25) due to stricter overload checks and a temporary volume loss from a major renewable energy customer with its production line undergoing nine to 12 months of planned maintenance.
“However, margins should remain supported by post ban rate revisions. In the nine-month period of FY25 (9M25), container volume declined to 393,293 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) or down 5.6% y-o-y, while average revenue per TEU rose to RM533 (up 6% y-o-y),” the research house said in a report yesterday.
For land transport, the research house said steady demand is likely to support a higher number of trips y-o-y, but a mix skewed toward smaller trucks that command lower rates could result in weaker margins.
“A total of 207,297 trips (up 14% y-o-y) were recorded in 9M25, alongside a lower average revenue per trip of RM986 (down 7% y-o-y).
“The segment could see further upside as phase one of the Shah Alam International Logistics Hub (30%-owned associate) comes onstream in first half of FY26 with 300 loading bays, enabling up to 600 land transport trips per day,” the research house said.
As for the warehousing segment, MBSB Research said it should remain steady, with utilisation at optimal levels averaging 92% in 9M25.
However, the research house said recent quarters have seen some margin pressure due to a higher mix of customers requiring handling activities.
“Beyond FY25, expansion plans include a cold chain facility in Tebrau, Johor, targeting special economic zone-demand and the development of unutilised land bank in Butterworth, Penang for both ambient and cold chain operations, with contributions expected from FY27,” MBSB Research said.
Freight forwarding should remain a bright spot for Swift Haulage.
“This is supported by steady higher-yielding project cargo flows, with better y-o-y performance also supported by inorganic contributions from the Aman Logistiks acquisition in August 2024.
“Freight forwarding remains the key earnings support on project cargo flows.
“In 9M25, freight forwarding jobs rose to 86,751 (up 17.4% y-o-y), with average revenue per job at RM772 (up 21% y-o-y),” the research house said.
MBSB Research maintained a “neutral” call for Swift Haulage with an unchanged target price of 35 sen based on 11 times FY26 earnings per share.
