Sunway Construction Group Berhad (Sunway Construction or Group) announced its financial results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2022 (Q2 2022).
Sunway Construction recorded a set of strong financial performances for the quarter under review. Revenue rose 48.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM557.9 million in Q2 2022, from RM375.3 million in the corresponding quarter in the preceding year. Profit before tax (PBT) jumped 351.7 per cent y-o-y, from RM9.5 million in Q2 2021 to RM43.0 million in Q2 2022. The improved financial performance was due to a low base and higher revenue from all segments.
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Revenue for the construction segment increased 49.7 per cent y-o-y to RM523.0 million in Q2 2022 due to the normalisation of works to full capacity in the current quarter. In the same quarter last year, operations were affected by Movement Control Order 3.0 (MCO 3.0) in June 2021 of which operations were limited to essential projects approved by MITI at 60 per cent productivity. PBT soared 332.6 per cent y-o-y to RM41.1 million for the quarter under review.
Revenue for the precast segment increased from RM26.0 million in Q2 2021 to RM34.9 million in Q2 2022, representing an increase of 34.2 per cent y-o-y. PBT improved correspondingly to RM1.9 million in the current quarter. During the total lockdown in June 2021, the two precast plants were not permitted to operate under the directive of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), which affected revenue and profitability due to fixed overhead costs.
The Group declared a first interim single-tier cash dividend of 3.00 sen per ordinary share for the financial year ending 31 December 2022, representing 57 per cent of the Group’s profit after tax and minority interests (PATMI) in the first half of 2022 (H1 2022).
Sunway Construction Group Managing Director Liew Kok Wing commented, “We are pleased that the strong financial performance was sustained in H1 2022. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Group is cautiously optimistic of registering positive growth in 2022 supported by our strong existing outstanding order book.”
He commented further, “The outlook for the construction industry is improving as the economy transitions into the endemic phase. The rollout of mega infrastructure projects augurs well for the construction industry. In addition, rapid growth in e-commerce, cloud computing and microchips industries lead to higher demand for semiconductor manufacturing plants and facilities, e-commerce and logistics warehouses and data centres.”
He elaborated, “We hope that the operating landscape will stabilise further as commodity and steel bar prices have retreated from their peak levels. Meanwhile, Sunway Construction managed to obtain a quota for 400 foreign workers, and we expect approximately 100 foreign workers to arrive in September 2022.”
