PETALING JAYA: New Hoong Fatt Holdings Bhd, which held its 26th annual general meeting (AGM) today, said the group remained resilient in 2022 and is poised to maintain the growth momentum this year on steady demand for automotive parts and accessories for vehicles.
Group managing director Chin Jit Sin said market demand will remain firm, driven by the growing car population each year and the rising middle-income class, particularly in the Asean region.
“NHF will continue to focus on the Asean market in 2023, where there is still a huge potential for growth in vehicle ownership per capita. Based on the data from the Asean Key Figures 2022, the total number of registered motor vehicles in Asean was 243.7 million units in 2021, up 76.5% from 2010, or 5.8% growth per year. The car ownership ratio for most of the Asean countries is still low in relation to their population. Therefore, we see a lot of room for growth, and hopefully we will be able to capitalise on it in the future,” he added.
The group’s revenue from the Asean market grew by 17% in 2022 compared with 2021. This was achieved in spite of economic volatility, potential signs of a global slowdown and an uneven market recovery post-pandemic.
“The sluggish economic condition in 2022 resulted in weak buying sentiment and intense market pressure competing for market volume. Despite the fact that Covid-19 supply disruptions were waning, sales demand from certain markets were still affected by the pandemic. Given the prevailing volatile economic climate, we anticipate that the competition will remain intense this year and demand will be moderate,” said Chin
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY22), the group’s consolidated revenue showed an increase of 18.9% to RM290.4 million from RM244.2 million in FY21. The group posted profit before tax (PBT) of RM33.2 million in FY22, compared with RM25.1 million in FY21. The increase in PBT was mainly due to higher revenue achieved.
As a result, the group’s net profit increased by 36.2% from RM19.6 million in FY21 to RM26.7 million in FY22. It closed FY22 with earnings per share of 32.3 sen compared with 23.7 sen in FY21.
At the AGM, shareholders approved a final single-tier dividend of 10 sen per ordinary share, which amounted to RM8,267,226. NHF had earlier declared an interim single-tier dividend of 3 sen per ordinary share for FY22, amounting to RM2.48 million, which was paid to shareholders on Dec 23, 2022. This approval brings the total single-tier dividends declared by the group for 2022 to 13 sen per ordinary share.
Chin said NHF remains cautiously optimistic about the automotive replacement market and expects its performance for 2023 to be satisfactory. The group will continue to pursue a consolidation strategy to strengthen its current foundation for growing the business sustainably.
