IJM releases Financial Results for Quarter Ended 30 September 2015

Petaling Jaya, 24 November 2015: IJM Corporation Berhad (“IJM”) today released its financial results for the second quarter ended 30 September 2015. The Group’s operating revenue increased 3.6% to RM1,339.0 million from RM1,293.0 million reported in the same quarter last year on account of improved contributions from the Group’s Construction, Industry and Infrastructure divisions. The Group’s profit before tax (“PBT”), however, decreased 6.8% to RM221.8 million as compared to RM238.0 million in the corresponding quarter last year due to the Construction, Property, Plantations and Infrastructure divisions.

For the quarter, revenue of the Construction division increased by 62.5% to RM360.1 million from RM221.6 million in the same quarter last year, mainly driven by higher contribution from newer projects that were secured in the previous year. Revenue of the Industry division rose to RM247.7 million, a 12.4% increase from RM220.4 million achieved in the same quarter last year due to higher sales volume while the Group’s Infrastructure division recorded an increase in revenue of 71.4% to RM301.3 million from RM175.8 million as a result of continued traffic growth at its toll operations as well as higher cargo throughput at the port concession. Revenue of the Property division, however, decreased by 43.2% to 284.5 million from RM501.1 million last year due to the lower level of unbilled sales arising from the reduced take-up rate given the challenging property market conditions and also completion of several projects in the preceding year. As a result of the lower commodity price and lower sales volume, revenue of the Plantations division declined 16.5% to RM145.1 million from RM173.7 million in the same quarter last year.

Quarterly PBT of the Construction division declined by 11.8% to RM41.8 million from RM47.3 million achieved in the previous year as certain projects that contributed significantly to the previous year had since been completed. Following the decline in Property revenue, pre-tax profit of the division decreased by 24.6% to RM84.2 million as compared to RM111.7 million achieved in the same quarter last year. The Industry division saw a 15.6% increase of its pre-tax profits to RM38.1 million due to an increase in the delivery tonnage of piles. In addition to lower sales volume and lower commodity price, the Plantation division incurred unrealised forex losses of RM45.9 million arising from the strengthening US dollar against the Indonesian Rupiah thereby resulting in the division posting a loss before tax of RM32.3 million as compared to a pre-tax profit of RM34.4 million in the same quarter last year.

For the quarter, the Infrastructure division sustained a pre-tax loss of RM37.9 million mainly on account of RM149.6 million unrealised forex losses arising from its US dollar denominated borrowings used to finance the Group’s investments in India. The extent of the unrealised forex losses incurred by the Infrastructure division was, however, largely mitigated by unrealised forex gains amounting to RM116.7 million attributable to the Group’s US dollar denominated assets and recognised under “Investment & Others” for segmental reporting purposes. 

Commenting on the Group’s prospects, IJM’s Managing Director & CEO Dato’ Soam Heng Choon asserted that, “The Group’s prospects under the Construction, Industry and Infrastructure divisions are underscored by strong current outstanding order book levels and further supported by the ongoing infrastructure spending identified by the Malaysian Economic Transformation Programme and projects recently announced in Budget 2016. The Group also has a fast maturing Plantation land bank profile to provide FFB production growth in the next few years. Despite the challenging property market outlook, the Group’s Property division possesses a wide variety of products that cater to the demands in its respective geographical markets.”
  
The Company declared a single tier first interim dividend of 3 sen per share to be paid on 23 December 2015.

Note: This media release is to be read in conjunction with the media release of IJM Plantations Berhad.

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About IJM Corporation Berhad
IJM Corporation Berhad (“IJM”), formed in 1983, is today one of Malaysia’s leading construction groups and is listed on the main board of Bursa Malaysia. Its business activities encompass construction, property development, manufacturing and quarrying, infrastructure concessions and plantations. 

Headquartered in Selangor, its operations are located in 10 countries, with primary focus in Malaysia, India and Indonesia. The Group presently has a market capitalisation of around RM12 billion and as of September 2015, the Group employed around 4,600 employees and had total assets of RM20.6 billion. 

The Group’s belief in a shared destiny with its employees remains pivotal to its growing success while its reputation for professionalism, performance and good governance is acknowledged by customers and investors alike from its numerous corporate and industry accolades. IJM is committed to ethical business conduct and subscribes to the principles of good corporate citizenship for sustainable growth and development.