WCT in the red again in 3Q on absence of land disposal gain

• Quarterly revenue, however, rose 5.6% to RM496.56 million from RM470.04 million a year ago, the group's filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday showed. WCT also incurred a net loss of RM7.69 million in 1QFY2023.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 23): Builder-cum-property developer WCT Holdings Bhd has gone back to the red in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2023 (3QFY2023) with a net loss of RM13.54 million despite stronger revenue compared to a net profit of RM12.49 million a year ago, due to absence of positive one-off items recognised in the previous corresponding quarter — including a land disposal gain.

Quarterly revenue, however, rose 5.6% to RM496.56 million from RM470.04 million a year ago, the group's filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday showed. WCT also incurred a net loss of RM7.69 million in 1QFY2023.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2023 (9MFY2023), WCT reported a net loss of RM8.23 million against a net profit of RM101.54 million in the corresponding period in the previous year, while revenue dipped 19% to RM1.33 billion from RM1.64 billion.

WCT said the decrease in both revenue and profit are mainly due to the positive effect of one-off items incurred in 3QFY2022, including a sale of vacant lands that contributed revenue of RM214 million and profit of RM56 million, and the reversal of tax provisions that resulted in savings of RM57 million.

The engineering and construction segment continues to be the group's main contributor of revenue, accounting for about 70% of the group's consolidated revenue, while the property development and property investment & management segments represent approximately 19% and 11% respectively.

Looking ahead, WCT said it foresees the engineering and construction industry outlook to be challenging due to soft market conditions.

"Our engineering and construction division will continue to focus on project execution, whilst pursuing new opportunities for engineering and construction jobs to replenish our order book," it said.

On the other hand, WCT said the resilient Malaysian economy and improvement in China's growth are expected to stimulate further the demand for its property development offers and launches.

"The strong Malaysian household spending coupled with the pickup in arrival of tourists will continue to revitalise the five retail malls under the group's management in particular the airport malls as well as hotels and business aviation services," WCT added.

Shares of WCT closed unchanged on Thursday at 52 sen per share with a market capitalisation of RM730.48 million.

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