KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Auto Bhd’s (BAuto) net profit surged 52% to RM46.5mil for its third quarter ended Jan 31 from RM30.5mil a year earlier, mainly attributed to higher revenue, better gross profit margin and lower operating expenses.
The group’s revenue for the quarter rose 13.3% to RM388.7mil from RM343mil in the same corresponding period a year ago on a higher sales volume of Mazda vehicles. Earnings per share grew to 5.74 sen against 3.88 sen previously.
“The recently launched new Mazda2 model and the popular Mazda CX-5 model were the main contributors to the sales volume growth in Malaysia.
“If not for the oversupply situation, which caused a price war among the local distributors, the group’s sales volume growth in Malaysia would have been higher.
“In the Philippines, the Mazda2 and Mazda3 models continue to be the driving force behind its sales volume growth,” the distributor and assembler for Mazda vehicles in Malaysia said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.
BAuto’s board has recommended a third interim single-tier dividend of 3.35 sen per share for the said quarter, to be payable on April 21.
The entitlement date has been fixed for April 8.
For the first nine months, BAuto’s net profit jumped by 90% to RM160.1mil from RM84.2mil previously. Revenue grew 34.3% to RM1.41bil from RM1.05bil a year ago.
BAuto said the third quarter had been a challenging period for the group, with many local distributors offering heavy discounts due to overstocking of inventory.
“The intense competition is expected to continue until the oversupply situation ceases and the effects of the goods and services tax on car prices become clearer to consumers.
“Notwithstanding these challenges, the board is confident that the group’s recent launch of the new Mazda2 will make good contribution to the results for the remaining quarter of this financial year,” BAuto said.
