KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — UMW Holdings Bhd’s net profit surged to RM97.27 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2021, from RM44.32 million in the same period a year earlier.
This was thanks to a higher revenue of RM2.95 billion achieved for the quarter compared with RM2.12 billion in the previous year’s corresponding period, which was mainly due to the higher sales in the automotive and equipment segments following the relaxation of the Movement Control Order (MCO), the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
The automotive segment’s revenue jumped by 51 per cent to RM2.40 billion from RM1.56 billion in the year-ago quarter, mainly due to the higher number of vehicles sold following the extension of the sales tax exemption to June 30, 2021.
Meanwhile, the equipment segment increased its revenue to RM332.5 million against RM289.2 million in the corresponding quarter, mainly driven by improved demand for the segment’s products and services in its local and overseas markets following the relaxation of the MCO in the quarter.
However, UMW’s manufacturing and equipment segment saw a drop in revenue to RM230.3 million from RM248.5 million a year earlier, mainly due to lower contribution from the aerospace sub-segment following lower fan cases delivered in the quarter.
Moving forward, the group said it expected the business recovery to be gradual, as the business environment would continue to remain challenging amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Nonetheless, the group will continue to assess its strategies and initiatives to mitigate the challenges as well as to intensify efforts to improve its cost effectiveness, competitiveness and resilience,” it added. — Bernama
