Berjaya Assets posts RM6.8 million Q2 pre-tax profit

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Assets Bhd (BAssets) registered lower pre-tax profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2016 due to lower profit reported from Natural Avenue Sdn Bhd (NASB) due to higher prize payout, lower profits from its property development and investment segments and higher finance costs.
The group made a pre-tax profit of RM6.8 million , compared to RM7 million for the corresponding quarter in 2015.
This was on marginally lower revenue of RM91.5 million, compared with RM95.5 million for the same quarter in 2015, due to the rampant illegal gaming activities that impacted the gaming business segment operated by NASB which resulted in a 13% drop in revenue.
The marginal decrease in revenue of property development and investment business segment was mainly due to lower rental income and revenue generated from jetty operations. These were partly mitigated by higher revenue reported from hotel and recreation business segment arising from higher occupancy rates, higher income from the theme park operations arising from
higher ticket sales and higher food and beverage revenue from Greyhound Cafe restaurant.
For the cumulative six months ended Dec 31, 2016, the group registered a revenue of RM183.4 million and pre-tax profit of RM6.2 million as compared to a revenue of RM191.0 million and a pre-tax profit of RM24.8 million reported in the corresponding period in 2015.
Given the current economic conditions and financial outlook, the directors expect the property investment and hotel and related businesses operated by Berjaya Times Square Sdn Bhd and the gaming business operated by NASB to maintain its occupancy rates and market share respectively going forward.
“The directors envisage that the operating performance of the group for the remaining quarters in financial year ending June 30, 2017 will be challenging,” said BAssets.