WCT Q4 profit surges nearly 17 times

PETALING JAYA: WCT Holdings Bhd’s net profit jumped close to 17 times to RM59.27 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2017 against RM3.51 million in the previous corresponding period, buoyed by fair value gain on investment properties and higher contribution from its businesses.
Its revenue also rose 27.9% from RM453.17 million to RM579.4 million. WCT has proposed a final dividend of 3 sen per share.
Its full-year net profit more than doubled from RM68.38 million to RM154.62 million, while revenue declined slightly by 1.4% from RM1.93 billion to RM1.91 billion.
The construction and property firm said in a filing with the stock exchange, the engineering and construction segment will continue to build on its strong order book after securing several new infrastructure contracts worth about RM2 billion in 2017.
However, with a subdued proper market outlook, WCT will be cautious in launching new projects and will continue to intensify the sales of its existing property stocks.
Meanwhile, the property investment and management segment is expected to provide a stable income stream for the group. Paradigm Mall Johor Baru, which opened its doors in November 2017, has achieved an occupancy rate of 92% for the mall’s 1.3 million sq ft of net lettable space.