KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 ― Gamuda Bhd’s shares on Bursa Malaysia increased in the early session today after the group announced higher-than-expected financial results for the financial year ended July 31, 2021 (FY2021) yesterday.

As at 9.52am, the counter rose 6.0 sen to RM3.08 with 765,700 shares changing hands.

Gamuda posted a net profit of RM214.1 million for the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2021 (Q4 2021), compared with a loss of RM12.5 million in Q4 2020 amid stronger construction and property earnings as work on all fronts accelerated on the back of rigorous COVID-19 control measures.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, the company had also attributed its performance to the absence of last year’s one-off non-cash Industrialised Building System (IBS) assets impairment of RM148.1 million.

CGS-CIMB said despite the delays, Gamuda’s Mass Rapid Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) project remains in the pipelines and could take a new approach and re-emerge as a priority project once a new project model and funding plans are in place.

"The group did not discount the likelihood of MRT 3 partially taking on the public-private partnership (PPP) model as the government is still very keen to explore ways to best roll out MRT 3,” it said in a research note today.

Separately, the research firm said Gamuda’s RM5 billion Penang South Islands (PSI) project has hit a setback, with an expected eight-month delay to allow for resubmission for environmental impact assessment (EIA) approvals.

"Despite the delays, MRT 3 remains on the cards and we expect it to feature in Budget 2022 on Oct 29,” it added. ― Bernama