Crescendo slips into the red in 4Q on lower sales of properties, declares 2 sen final dividend

• Quarterly revenue fell 28% to RM39.27 million from RM54.57 million in 4QFY2022 as the group's property development and construction segment, as well as manufacturing and trading, reported lower revenue contributions.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Crescendo Corp Bhd has reported a net loss of RM3.63 million for the fourth quarter ended Jan 31, 2023 (4QFY2023), compared to a net profit of RM4.55 million a year earlier, due to lower sales of properties.

Quarterly revenue fell 28% to RM39.27 million from RM54.57 million in 4QFY2022 as the group's property development and construction segment, as well as manufacturing and trading, reported lower revenue contributions.

The group announced a final dividend of two sen per share, payable on Aug 29. This brings the total dividend for FY2023 to five sen.

For its full financial year, Crescendo's net profit improved 14% to RM24.52 million from RM21.52 million in FY2022, as its education services and property investments segments contributed to higher operating profits.

Revenue for FY2023, however, decreased slightly to RM215.72 million from RM217.12 million.

“The property market continues to remain challenging in the short and medium-term as a result of rising cost of construction resulting from fluctuations in building materials cost, rising inflation and the uptrend in interest rate,” said Crescendo in a bourse filing.

“However, the re-opening of all economic sectors and international borders and the improvement in the labour market are beneficial to the property market,” the group said.

Crescendo expects to launch 115 units of mid to high-end landed residential properties in Bandar Cemerlang, and 258 units of affordable housing in Taman Dato Chellam, both in Johor, with total gross development value of RM146 million within the next year.

“Based on the unbilled revenue from the total committed property sales of RM99 million as at March 24, 2023, the group is expected to perform satisfactorily in the financial year ending Jan 31, 2024,” the group said.

Crescendo’s share price closed four sen or 3.51% higher at RM1.18 on Thursday (March 30). Its market capitalisation stood at RM330.95 million.