PETALING JAYA: 99 Speed Mart Retail Holdings Bhd
(99 Speed Mart) will be keeping its focus on strengthening its retail presence and enhancing operational capabilities, noting that its new distribution centre in Semenyih is expected to support around 180 outlets in and around the area.
The group said it remains mindful of the challenging operating environment, with softer consumer demand amid evolving global landscape, changing economic conditions, inflationary pressures and cautious spending sentiment, while maintaining its focus on operational efficiency, cost management and sustainable growth.
Releasing its results for the second quarter ended June (2Q26), the retailer saw net profit improve by 13.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM163.9mil, in line with an almost identical improvement in topline to RM3.08bil.
Similarly, for the six months ended June 30, bottomline actually jumped 21.8% y-o-y to RM163.9mil, on the back of a 15.5% increase in turnover to RM6.14bil.
99 Speed Mart attributed the better y-o-y showing primarily to the continued expansion of its outlet network, with the total outlet count increasing by 8.9% in the first half of 2026 (1H26) compared to the same period last year.
“The enlarged retail footprint contributed to a 15.7% y-o-y increase in total sales transactions to 287.6 million, while the average basket size remained healthy at RM21.40 during the period.
“In addition, the bulk sales e-commerce platform contributed approximately RM22.4mil in incremental revenue compared with 1H25,” said the group.
At the same time, it pointed out that administrative and other operating expenses increased by 13.3% to RM766.4mil in 1H26, mainly attributable to higher staff costs and increased depreciation in supporting 99 Speed Mart's ongoing business expansion.
While the group continued to expand its retail and distribution operations, utility expenses recorded a meaningful decline, attributable to cost savings from its ongoing energy efficiency upgrades, partially offsetting the increase in operating expenses.
“The improvement in earnings was also underpinned by higher revenue and disciplined cost management, enabling the group to deliver sustained profitability while continuing to invest in its long-term growth initiatives,” it added.
Founder and chief executive Lee Thiam Wah commented: “We are pleased to maintain our positive growth momentum in this quarter, underpinned by the continued expansion of our outlet network and the nationwide implementation of earlier opening hours.
“We continue to broaden our product offerings to meet evolving customer needs. Following the encouraging response to our selected home appliances range, we have expanded their availability to all outlets nationwide and introduced them through the 99 Bulksales platform to better serve corporate and bulk purchase customers.”
Compared with 1Q26, the preceding quarter however, net profit slid 13.1% from RM188.6mil, even as revenue stayed largely stable from RM3.07bil.
99 Speed Mart said the lower sequential profitability was due mainly to the higher level of supplier promotional rebates earned in 1Q26 following the double festive campaigns of Chinese New Year and Hari Raya.
Having declared a dividend of 2.25 sen per share in 1Q26, the group did not declare any dividends in the current reporting period.
Separately, 99 Speed Mart said it will continue to focus on curating its product mix to cater to evolving consumer preferences and bring greater value, convenience and variety to customers across its outlets.
"In addition, we remain committed to enhancing supply chain efficiency, improving operational processes and leveraging its growing retail network to capture future growth opportunities," it said.
