KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Sunway Construction Group Bhd (SunCon) notched a net profit of RM33 million for its second quarter ended June 30, 2023 (2QFY2023), slightly higher than the RM32.3 million it made in the corresponding quarter last year, as revenue rose on improved contributions from all its  business segments.

The group's earnings per share rose to 2.56 sen per share from 2.51 sen per share a year ago, while revenue climbed 8.28% to RM604.1 million from RM557.89 million, its bourse filing showed.

The group declared a first interim dividend of three sen per share for FY2023, payable on Sept 27.

For the six months ended June 30, SunCon’s net profit fell 8.96% to RM60.83 million from RM66.82 million in the same period last year, as revenue slipped 4.76% to RM1.13 billion from RM1.18 billion, mainly due to lower contribution from its construction business — which in the previous year saw both higher turnover due to expedited work progress as well as higher profit margin due to the finalisation of accounts for completed projects

On prospects, SunCon said it has continued to make encouraging progress in replenishing its order book and has secured RM1.6 billion new contracts for the first half of FY2023, representing 80% of its new order book target for the year.

The group also sees increased opportunities in the sustainable and renewable energy segments, having recently secured a 29.9MW quota under the Corporate Green Power Programme from the Energy Commission.

“In addition, the Green Lane Pathway introduced by Tenaga Nasional Bhd augurs well to attract more data centre investors into Malaysia. The prospect for the construction sector is further boosted by foreign direct investments, in particular investments into logistics warehouses and semiconductor manufacturing. SunCon, through strategic partnerships, has actively participated in several tenders within these sectors and is currently awaiting the outcome of these tender bids,” said group managing director Liew Kok Wing.

Moving forward, he said the group is cautiously optimistic of registering positive growth in FY2023 as the group continues to provide strong earnings visibility with an outstanding order book of RM5.8 billion as at June 30, 2023.

SunCon’s shares closed three sen or 1.69% higher at RM1.80 on Wednesday (Aug 23), giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.33 billion.