WCT 3Q profit jumps 70.2% on stronger construction contribution

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 23): WCT Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2017 grew 70.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM40.8 million from RM24 million, mainly on stronger contribution from its local construction division.

Quarterly revenue rose 13.4% y-o-y to RM469.8 million from RM414.4 million, its Bursa Malaysia filing showed.

For its first nine months of financial year 2017, net profit jumped 47% y-o-y to RM95.3 million from RM64.9 million, though revenue slipped 10.4% y-o-y to RM1.33 billion from RM1.48 billion.

“The group’s improved performance was mainly due to stronger contribution from local construction projects. In addition, our continued focus on enhancing profit margin from our construction jobs, through greater efficiencies and better cost management, had impacted our bottom line in a positive manner,” WCT managing director Datuk Lee Tuck Fook said in a press release.

The group also saw positive contribution from its property development and investment division, as it intensified sales and marketing efforts to promote existing offerings as opposed to launching more products, Lee said.

Moving forward, he said its engineering and construction division is expected to continue to perform well due to its strong order book moving forward, as it expects the construction industry to remain vibrant.

As for its property development and investment division, it is expected to contribute further to the group’s performance, with new property assets coming into the market, Lee noted.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Nov 23, 2017.

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