PETALING JAYA: Bermaz Auto Bhd (BAuto) posted a pre-tax profit of RM29.2 million for its second quarter ended Oct 31, 2019 against RM94.6 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter, largely due to lower profit contribution from the domestic operations and lower share of profit contribution from its associate company, Mazda Malaysia Sdn Bhd.
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, BAuto said the lower profit contribution was a result of weakening domestic sales volume and lower margin arising from the absorption of higher costs on the new facelift Mazda CX-5 model.
“The strengthening of the Japanese yen against the ringgit had also impacted the group’s gross profit margin. Concurrently, the group also incurred the expense relating to the group’s employee’s share scheme (ESS) amounting to RM1.1 million in this quarter’s review while there was no such expense in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter,” it said.
Revenue for the quarter came in at RM457.2 million compared to RM690.3 million previously.
“The lower revenue was partly offset by higher revenue contribution from the Philippine operations despite marginal changes in sales volume due to the shift in the sales mix from lower range models such as the Mazda2, to the all-new Mazda3 model that was launched during the current quarter,” the group said.
The board recommended a second interim dividend of 2.75 sen for the quarter under review, to be payable on Feb 17, 2020.
For the six-month cumulative period, BAuto’s pre-tax profit stood at RM94.2 million compared to RM161.8 million in the same period a year ago, with RM992.2 million in revenue against RM1.18 billion previously.
Looking ahead, the group said the murky global economic outlook, dampened consumer sentiments and a drop in the total industry volume over the last 10 months would prove to be a challenge.
“Notwithstanding the above, the group is optimistic that the recent launch of the all-new Mazda3, the Mazda CX-8, the new facelift of the Mazda CX-5 model, and the expected launch of the all new Mazda CX-30 during the coming quarter may mitigate some of these challenges,” it said.
As for its Philippines operations, BAuto said the total sales for the 10 months of the calendar year increased 2.5% to 301,761 units from 294,311 units in the corresponding period.
It noted that Bermaz Auto Philippines Inc (BAP) has yet to take advantage of a tax reform introduced in January 2018, which favoured the commercial vehicle segment, as its current model is an ageing one.
“However, plans are in place to bring in a new Mazda BT-50 model in the next calendar year. BAP seeks to preserve its revenue and profitability through further strengthening its brand equity in tandem with sustainable dealer support and the launch of the new and facelift models,” it said.
Overall, the group anticipates its performance for FY20 ending April 30 will remain satisfactory.
