KUALA LUMPUR: Gabungan AQRS Bhd’s net profit more than doubled to RM15.23 million in the fourth quarter ended December 2017, from RM7.45 million in the same period in the preceding year due to the higher construction work progress.
Revenue jumped 1.7 times to RM150.21 million in the quarter from RM86.1 million in the corresponding period in 2016.
For the full-year period, the net profit surged to RM48.04 million from RM22.63 million in 2016 while revenue rose to RM469.44 million from RM330.06 million.
The company said construction division reported a higher revenue of RM154.12 million in the fourth quarter compared to RM73.99 million in the same quarter in 2016.
Revenue for the current quarter was mainly contributed from the work progress for the Sungai Besi – Ulu Kelang (SUKE) Highway, Pusat Pentadbiran Sultan Ahmad Shah (PPSAS) and Light Rail Transit 3 (LRT3) projects.
During the quarter, the group also recognised a RM47.08 million variation order for its already-completed Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit 1 (MRT1) project.
Gabungan AQRS said the decrease in revenue in the property development segment is due to the lower number of property development projects that it undertook in 2017.
“Consequent to the decrease in revenue, the division reported a loss before tax of RM31.2 million in the fourth quarter compared to a loss before tax of RM5.7 million in the previous corresponding quarter,” it said.
The company anticipates a better performance next year as the construction progress for its ongoing construction jobs picks up pace.
“Looking ahead, we envision increasing its construction order book by a further RM1.5 billion by first half of the Financial Year 2018 which will continue to positively contribute to the group’s revenue and profit sustainability up to year 2021,” it said.
“We also expect a turnaround in the property development division as we plan to increase our marketing efforts for The Peak and also begin launching our One Jesselton Waterfront development in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah,” it added.