Ikhmas Jaya bidding for jobs worth RM8.9b

SUBANG JAYA: Engineering and construction firm Ikhmas Jaya Group Bhd has tendered for RM8.9 billion worth of jobs under Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Line 2 (KVMRT2) and highway projects such as Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak, Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway and Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway.
The group is primarily involved in piling and foundation works, bridge construction, building construction and other civil works.
Speaking to reporters after its AGM yesterday, group managing director Datuk Ang Cheng Siong said the group is awaiting the results of the tender that it submitted.
“By the end of this year, we are hoping to get one or two packages from this tender book,” he added, noting that the group is also looking to participate in the RM60 billion Bandar Malaysia project.
At present, Ang said, the group’s outstanding order book stands at about RM700 million, which can keep the group busy for the next two years.
For the current financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 (FY16), Ang said, the group has set the target of clocking an almost 50% increase in turnover to RM400 million, from RM268.7 million it recorded in FY15, which will be driven by its strong order book as well as tender book.
Asked about the impact of the current sluggish property market on its business, Ang said he believes that the group will not be affected, given the vast infrastructure, bridge, foundation and piling-related works, which are its specialist areas.
“So far, it (the market slowdown) has not affected us,” he noted.
Ang explained that the decrease in the group’s revenue in the first quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Q1FY16) is due mainly to its newly secured projects, which are still at the beginning stage.
“We just got our project in the first quarter, where we procured about RM500 million worth of jobs. Normally, when it (the project) just starts, it is a bit sluggish. But I believe in the second quarter it should pick up,” he added.
In the first quarter, Ikhmas Jaya’s net profit almost halved to RM4.31 million, from RM8.49 million in the previous corresponding quarter, which is in tandem with the decrease in the group’s revenue. Revenue slipped 33% to RM51.08 million, compared with RM76.34 million from a year earlier.