Group’s financial performance supported by higher gross profit margin resulting from higher average selling prices
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia, Feb 25, 2022 – (ACN Newswire) – Leon Fuat Berhad (“Leon Fuat” or the “Group”), a manufacturer and trader of steel products, specialising in rolled long and flat products today released the Group’s financial results for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2021 (“Q4FY2021”) recording 61.8% growth in profit after tax (“PAT”) to RM29.09 million compared with RM17.98 million in the corresponding quarter of the preceding year (“Q4FY2020”).
The Group is pleased to note that for the quarter under review, revenue increased by 27.8% to RM254.21 million compared with RM198.96 million in Q4FY2020 while profit before tax (“PBT”) recorded a 106.5% increase to RM38.61 million compared with RM18.70 million.
On a segmental basis, revenue from trading of steel products registered a 26.5% increase to RM81.95 million while revenue from processing of steel products recorded a 28.4% rise to RM172.18 million. The trading segment’s contribution to revenue stood at 32.2% in Q4FY2021 compared with 32.6% in the corresponding quarter of FY2020 while the processing segment’s contribution stood at 67.7% compared with 67.4% in Q4FY2020.
For the financial year ended 31 December 2021 (“FY2021”), PAT grew 377.6% to RM135.98 million compared with RM28.47 million in the preceding financial year. PBT increased 418.1% to RM172.85 million compared with RM33.36 million while revenue gained 50.4% to RM886.58 million compared with RM589.58 million registered in FY2020.
Calvin Ooi Shang How, Executive Director of Leon Fuat said, “The Group’s financial performance for the quarter under review was supported by higher revenue and better gross profit margin from the rise in average selling prices in both the trading and processing of steel products. For the financial year as a whole, revenue was also supported by higher overall average selling prices that also resulting in better overall gross profit margin”.
“We are maintaining our cautious outlook for 2022 on downside risks arising from decelerating economic growth amid continued COVID-19 flareups across the world, diminishing policy support and lingering supply bottlenecks. While the Malaysian economy is expected to grow by 5.5% to 6.5% this year on continued external demand and private sector expenditure, we note concerns over new virus variants, inflation and financial stress that could weigh on economic recovery too”.
“We will continue to monitor the movement of steel prices as we anticipate commodity price volatility due to global factors. Our monitoring will also continue for foreign currencies while negotiating forward contracts where necessary and having prudent inventory management. The Group will continue to actively address COVID-19 concerns by adhering strictly to standard operating procedures and having in place emergency response teams in three of our major subsidiaries”.