KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 — Leong Hup International Bhd recorded a net loss of RM53.4 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 (Q3 FY2021) against a net profit of RM22.5 million in the same period last year amid challenging market conditions due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Revenue jumped to RM1.81 billion from RM1.57 billion previously mainly due to higher revenue from Indonesia and Malaysia, it said in filing with Bursa Malaysia.  

"The group’s revenue from sales of livestock and poultry-related products increased by 9.5 per cent from RM865.1 million in the Q3 FY2020 to RM947.6 million in the Q3 FY2021,” it said.

It said the increase in revenue from Indonesia was primarily due to the higher sales volume of broiler chickens as well as favourable average selling price (ASP) of day-old-chicks (DOC) and broiler chickens while the higher revenue from Malaysia was mainly due to an increase in ASP of eggs as well as the expansion of its downstream business-to-consumer channel since June 2020.

"Consumptions have improved as economies reopened but business conditions remain challenging as demand remains below pre-Covid-19 levels. The Board remains vigilant but is cautiously optimistic that the worst may be behind us,” it said.

It said the company has adequate liquidity for operations and is well-positioned to capture opportunities as the market recover.

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, executive director and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Francis Lau said Southeast Asian nations saw strong progress in the pace of Covid-19 vaccinations recently, which is expected to bode well for the recovery in economic activities going forward.

"However, the pace of recovery is expected to be rather uneven across our operating markets with certain countries including Malaysia and Singapore gearing up to enter into the endemic phase of Covid-19 as practically all sectors have been allowed to reopen, albeit at a limited capacity.

"Separately, other countries like Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines have begun to gradually relax lockdown measures as these countries ratchet up vaccination rates,” he added. — Bernama