KUALA LUMPUR (July 29): Fibre optic cable manufacturer Opcom Holdings Bhd sees further progress in its fifth generation (5G) market expansion this year, as it benefitted from the government’s 4G and 5G rollout to post its strongest earnings in four years.

This was despite a recent margin squeeze on higher cost of sales and administrative expenses, which dragged the group into the red in the latest quarter ended March 31, 2022 (4QFY22).

In a statement on Friday (July 29), Opcom Independent Non-Executive Chairman Datuk Mazlin Md Junid expressed belief that the 5G technology “is the key driver [to] Malaysia’s digital economic aspirations”.

“As our financial standings improved in FY22, we are expecting to craft a solid and sustainable growth rate in the near future”, Mazlin said in the statement.

He further said that Opcom also plans to invest in other businesses to increase the group’s revenue streams and enhance shareholders’ value.

“We expect our aforementioned expansion plans to contribute positively to our group in 2023,” Mazlin reiterated.

Notably, prominent businessman Datuk Eddie Ong Choo Meng, who controls Main Market-listed agrochemicals giant Hextar Global Bhd, is the sole substantial shareholder of Opcom, with a 15.89% stake as of June 30.

The group booked a 52.5% increase in net profit to RM3.9 million in the full-year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22), up from RM2.6 million a year before, as revenue rose 30.1% to RM87.18 million, as compared to RM66.99 million a year earlier.

Earnings per share, however, slipped to 1.41 sen in FY22, down from 1.6 sen per share in FY21.

Shares of Opcom settled five sen or 6% higher to 88 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM242.75 million.