This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on September 7, 2017 - September 13, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Goh Ban Huat Bhd (GBH) is looking at expanding its sanitaryware business into the Vietnamese property market, said executive director David Lai.

“We are close with certain big property developers in town who have projects in those countries [such as Vietnam]. A good relationship is a good way of partnership to see if we can move our products to some of their projects,” Lai told reporters after the group’s annual general meeting yesterday.

“I think that would be a good platform for us to set base [in Vietnam] and see whether we can sell our sanitaryware beyond Malaysia,” he added.

Lai said the plan is still at its infancy and would take nine to 12 months to come to a collaboration, as discussions with developers are ongoing.

When asked if the property sector would be a focus area for its diversification, GBH corporate adviser Datuk Anderson Thor Poh Seng declined to comment. Instead, he reiterated that the group is still on the lookout for a new business after it exited the clay pipes manufacturing business in its financial year ended March 31, 2017.

In August, the company bought a vacant land measuring some 9,925 sq m in Mont Kiara from Puncak Melati Sdn Bhd for RM39.53 million, which Thor said was for investment purposes.

He said the company would not discount the possibility of developing the land themselves, possibly into medium- to high-end properties in view of its location, or selling the land off later on.

“The investment may be for future capital gain, or perhaps, if the market is good, we may develop it ourselves in the future. The options are still very flexible”, said Thor.

Meanwhile, based on its financial statements submitted to the stock exchange last week, GBH’s top line in the first quarter of financial year 2018 (1QFY18) ended June 30 shrunk 63.88% to RM4.79 million, from RM13.25 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

It, however, returned to the black with a net profit of RM445,000, compared to a net loss of RM715,000 previously, mainly from interest income earned.

Lai said the company is working on improving its performance in the upcoming quarters, but foresee huge challenges ahead due to the softening of the market.

GBH’s cash pile stood at RM152.73 million as at June 30, 2017, which Thor said will be used for growth in its existing trading business and for future diversification purposes.

On cessation of its clay pipes manufacturing business, GBH now operates in two main segments, namely the trading of sanitaryware and property investment, spearheaded by Tan Sri Datuk Tan Hua Choon.

GBH’s shares slid one sen to close at RM1.33, with a market capitalisation of RM250.09 million.