PETALING JAYA: Tasco Bhd
may be heading into a recovery phase, supported by higher air freight rates, stronger ocean cargo activity, and a shift towards owned warehouse capacity, which could strengthen market sentiment on the group’s financial year 2027 (FY27) outlook.
MBSB Research said the integrated logistics solutions provider’s outlook is gradually improving following its fourth-quarter briefing.
“Management highlighted that freight forwarding transactions are now largely conducted on spot rates amid market volatility, potentially supporting stronger yields,” the research house noted.
“Air freight forwarding revenue growth was mainly driven by higher freight rates despite tonnage declining 5% year-on-year (y-o-y) in its fourth quarter of FY26 (4Q26).”
Past West Asia’s war immediate impact, MBSB Research noted air freight earnings are rising because prices are surging due to tight global capacity, including aircraft retirements, maintenance bottlenecks, and prioritisation of passenger flights.
Although shipment volumes are slightly declining, it highlighted that elevated freight rates continue to provide support for further upside.
Tasco, therefore, noted it expects a stronger contribution from this segment as selected Malaysia-origin air freight routes in May are seeing average rates double y-o-y, MBSB Research said.
It also pointed out a contrasting trend in ocean freight revenue, where Tasco’s earnings were previously weak as lower shipping rates offset a 4.0% y-o-y increase in volumes in 4Q26.
“Management believes the earlier decline in ocean freight rates was largely demand-driven rather than supply-related,” MBSB Research said.
It noted, nonetheless, that ocean freight volumes are expected to pick up in 1Q27.
“Rates have rebounded sharply in May 2026, with unusual strength even on intra-Asia routes such as Shanghai–Hong Kong.
“Ocean freight volumes have also picked up from April 2026 onwards (1Q27), supported by the resumption of artificial intelligence data centre-related construction activity in the United States after a winter pause,” it added.
Meanwhile, Tasco’s warehousing segment posted modest FY26 revenue growth of 1.4% y-o-y, while operating profit fell 7.5% due to higher manpower costs that could not be fully passed through.
Furthermore, MBSB Research noted warehouse utilisation however remained healthy at 90% to 95% (excluding renovation sites).
“Tasco is expanding capacity to about 4m sq ft while reducing outsourced space, which is expected to support margins, with no plans for aggressive expansion beyond current projects,” it added.
The group has also ordered seven electric vehicle prime movers which are expected to arrive around mid-May, with operations to commence by June 2026 after inspections are cleared.
According to the research house, management remains upbeat on the performance of its existing pilot electric truck, noting that the use of internally generated solar energy could potentially deliver 20% to 25% cost savings, alongside lower maintenance requirements and reduced downtime. Additionally, MBSB Research flagged Tasco’s cold chain segment as the primary concern.
“The cold chain segment’s revenue and operating profit declined minus 6.2% y-o-y and minus 44.4% y-o-y respectively, in 4Q26, mainly due to the loss of a major food and beverage customer.
“As a result, Tasco is downsizing its Westports cold chain operations by this month and expects utilisation to improve to above 85% following the restructuring,” it explained.
