KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 ― UMW Holdings Bhd rebounded from two quarters of losses to record a net profit of RM239.96 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021, raising its full-year earnings to RM268.23 million compared with RM204.60 million in 2020.

The improvement in the financial year 2021 (FY2021) bottom line was mainly driven by a 50.6 per cent surge in the automotive segment’s earnings to RM395.90 million.

The equipment segment posted a slightly better net profit of RM77.27 million versus RM76.83 million in the previous year, while the manufacturing and engineering business sank into the red with a net loss of RM8.58 million against a net profit of RM34.26 million in 2020.

Revenue for FY2021, meanwhile, ticked up 15.8 per cent to RM11.06 billion from RM9.55 billion in the preceding year, the industrial conglomerate said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.

"(This was) primarily attributed to the higher revenue from the automotive and equipment segments following the longer sales tax exemption period,” it said.

UMW Holdings noted that despite the longer shutdown for certain business operations of the group in 2021 of 2.5 months (June 1 to August 16) compared with 1.5 months (March 18 to May 3) in 2020, the group registered a 20.5 per cent higher profit before taxation and zakat of RM482.8 million against RM400.7 million in the preceding year.

The group said it expected business operations both domestically and regionally to gradually recover in line with the projected economic growth in 2022.

However, UMW Holdings said it remained cautious of the potential challenges arising from the Covid-19 pandemic and would continue to improve its resilience through cost optimisation and operational efficiency. ― Bernama