KUCHING: Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMS) registered higher turnover in the first half of 2015 (1H15) ended June 2015.
The company in a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday said revenue in 1H15 increased by 15 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM867.84 million from RM756.6 million recorded in 1H14.
Meanwhile, CMS in a statement said its profit before tax (PBT) for 1H15 has remained stable at RM161.72 million compared to RM164.84 million in 1H14.
CMS explained that the main contributors towards the PBT for 1H15 were the cement, construction materials and trading and construction and road maintenance divisions.
CMS further noted that its cement division recorded a PBT of RM54.59 million in 1H15, a seven per cent decrease in comparison to 1H14’s PBT of RM58.77 million.
CMS added its construction materials and trading division reported an increased PBT of RM48.34 million for 1H15, exceeding 1H14’s PBT of RM28.92 million by 67 per cent.
Apart from that, the state’s leading infrastructure facilitator said its construction and road maintenance division also recorded improved PBT of RM46.89 million to contribute towards the group’s results for 1H15.
Commenting on the results, CMS’s group managing director Datuk Richard Curtis said: “The first six months of this year has been a challenging period for us in terms of meeting performance against targets despite strong sales in certain divisions.
“This is largely due to macro factors outside our control.
“These include the impact of goods and services tax (GST) on consumer sentiment and in the cement division, the higher cost of raw materials and of imported cement resulting from the strong US dollar,” he said.
Additionally, CMS noted that within Sarawak, the continued focus on the state’s infrastructure has resulted in improved PBT results from the group’s construction materials and trading and construction and road maintenance divisions.
With a stable performance recorded in 1H15, CMS is cautiously optimistic that it will record a satisfactory financial performance for the full year of 2015 aided by the view that the group’s overall businesses will remain on a steady uptrend.
Furthermore, Curtis added, “CMS’s 25 per cent stake in the joint venture ferro silicon and manganese alloys smelter project with Australian listed OM Holdings Ltd, and 40 per cent stake in an integrated Phosphate Products complex with Malaysian Phosphate Additives Sdn Bhd and Arif Enigma Sdn Bhd – plus other investments being evaluated – are poised to drive up shareholder value.
“Our healthy balance sheet and experienced management team enable us both to sustain our core businesses in the face of any headwinds and to maximise our participation in the Sarawak growth story and thus position ourselves to accelerate our long-term sustainable growth”, he said.
In line with CMS’s dividend policy, the group has declared an interim tax exempt (single-tier) dividend of 1.5 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending December 31, 2015.
CMS revealed that the entitlement date and dividend payment date for the interim dividend will be on September 23 and October 22 respectively.
