PETALING JAYA: Packaging manufacturer and property developer Scientex Bhd attained a net profit of RM438.1 million for the financial year ended July 31, 2023 (FY23) on record high revenue of RM4.08 billion.
Its bottom line rose 6.9% from RM409.9 million from the year before as revenue increased 2.3% from RM3.99 billion.
The group’s property segment drove topline growth, increasing by 29.1% to RM1.45 billion in FY23 from RM1.12 billion previously, on strong take-up rates for new launches as well as higher sales and steady construction progress in ongoing projects.
The property division’s robust performance mitigated the packaging segment’s contribution, which continued to witness softer global demand coupled with higher operating costs. Packaging revenue fell 8.2% to RM2.63 billion in FY23 versus RM2.86 billion a year ago.
For the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2023 (Q4’23), Scientex posted RM114.9 million net profit on RM1.07 billion revenue, compared with RM125 million net profit on RM1.11 billion revenue in the previous corresponding quarter.
The decline in quarterly net profit was largely due to rising operating costs, particularly energy, in addition to an impairment of goodwill of RM22.7 million in relation to its Myanmar operations.
The property segment continued to display favourable performance in Q4’23 with higher progress billings from ongoing projects in Malacca, Selangor and Penang, in addition to robust demand for new launches in Johor, Selangor and Kedah. This outshone the softer demand for all product segments in the packaging division, which witnessed rising operating costs.
Scientex CEO Lim Peng Jin said he was heartened that on top of the group’s commitment to pursuing efficiency, its twin core strategy of packaging and property businesses had enabled Scientex to weather the vagaries of the macroenvironment.
“We are confident that the positive performance of the property division will continue to gain momentum in the current financial year ending July 31, 2024 (FY24), as we reap the benefits of existing strategies such as bulk purchase, optimising land use and deploying Industrialised Building System to maintain affordability and competitiveness of our homes,” he added.
Lim said Scientex endeavours to reiterate the similar discipline of production efficiency to its packaging division to mitigate the effects of softer global market demand and rising production costs.
Furthermore, he added, it expects to explore more opportunities and expand into new markets more aggressively, resulting from its focus on innovating value-added products.
As at July 31, 2023, the group’s ongoing development projects had a total gross development value of RM4 billion, comprising mainly double-storey landed homes priced at RM300,000 and below per unit.
In the packaging division, the group remains on track in its growth strategy of expanding capacity and capability, as well as adopting advanced technology, to optimise quality and production efficiency.
Scientex has proposed a single-tier final dividend of 5 sen per share in respect of FY23 for shareholders’ approval. This is in addition to an interim dividend of 5 sen per share paid earlier. The total dividend payout of RM155.1 million represents 35.4% of Scientex’s FY23 net profit, thus exceeding its dividend policy of paying out a minimum of 30% of net profit.
