KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 — Conglomerate Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter (2Q) ended June 30, 2023, spiked to RM661.26 million due to a gain arising from HS Credit (Manchester) Ltd’s (HCML) disposal compared with RM132.58 million posted in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter.

Revenue eased to RM1.64 billion in 2Q versus RM1.70 billion previously due to lower revenue from plantation and trading divisions, it said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.

To recap, on March 22, 2023, HSC Manchester Holding Pte Ltd entered into a shares sale agreement with Lei Shing Hong Capital Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lei Shing Hong Ltd, pursuant to which HSC Manchester had agreed to dispose of HCML for 152.96 million pounds sterling (RM837.34 million).

"The disposal gain is RM595 million,” it said.

For the first half year, net profit stood at RM712.65 million, up from RM288.88 million, while revenue was at RM3.23 billion as against RM3.34 billion in the previous corresponding period.

Hap Seng said the plantation division’s 2Q revenue was recorded at RM168.8 million, 32 per cent lower than the preceding year’s corresponding quarter of RM246.9 million, mainly due to the lower average selling price of all palm products but mitigated by higher sales volume of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel (PK).

It said the reduction in 2Q’s revenue was due to the lower average selling price per tonne of CPO and PK for the quarter under review at RM3,978 and RM2,168, respectively, as compared to the preceding year’s corresponding quarter of RM6,737 for CPO and RM3,769 for PK.

As for the property division, Hap Seng said revenue for the current quarter at RM121.6 million was in line with the preceding year’s corresponding quarter of RM121.9 million, while the property investment segment registered 7.0 per cent growth in rental revenue.

Meanwhile, the credit financing division’s loan base at the end of the current quarter at RM2.61 billion was 14 per cent below the preceding year’s corresponding quarter of RM3.03 billion as the division continues to be prudent in its loan approval process because of the elevated interest rate and economic uncertainties surrounding its sectors of financing.

"The reduced loan base was also attributable to the divestment of its Manchester operations in the United Kingdom via the disposal of HCML during the current quarter,” it added. — Bernama