IJM Corp’s Q1 net profit down 65.7%

PETALING JAYA: IJM Corp Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2016 plunged 65.71% to RM115.52 million from RM336.87 million a year ago due in the absence of a one-off gain that was recorded a year ago.
The one-off gain was from the disposal of a 74% equity interest in Jaipur-Mahua Tollway Private Ltd totalling RM168.7 million.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, IJM Corp said the lower earnings was also due to lower contributions from property development, manufacturing and quarrying, and infrastructure divisions, which were further dampened by net unrealised foreign exchange losses totaling RM5.9 million during the quarter compared with a net unrealised foreign exchange gain of RM27 million a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter rose 11.08% to RM1.31 billion from RM1.18 billion a year ago due to higher revenue contributed by the construction division.
The group expects the construction division to perform satisfactorily based on its strong order book, underpinned by substantial ongoing development activities from its in house property projects and government projects under the 11th Malaysia Plan.
For the property division, the group expects to sustain its performance this year with unbilled sales of RM1.7 billion, despite the challenging environment while performance of the industry division is expected to be positive based on its healthy order book.
Meanwhile, the plantation division will continue to face challenges due to the uncertain global demand and impact of El Nino on the recovery of the overall crop production.