KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 21): Hong Leong Industries Bhd’s (HLI) net profit for the second quarter jumped 39.36% year-on-year, attributed mainly to a favourable sales mix of motorcycle models and a disposal gain on its fibre cement board manufacturing business.

Net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (2QFY2024) increased to RM102.47 million — the highest since 4QFY2018 when the group logged a net profit of RM106.55 million — versus RM73.53 million in the prior year.

However quarterly revenue fell 11.65% to RM743.55 million, from RM841.61 million in 2QFY2023, due to lower sales.

The group declared a special dividend of 50 sen per share for the quarter under review, with an ex-date of March 27, payable on April 16. This brings the year-to-date dividend to 70 sen per share, exceeding the total dividend of 57 sen paid for the financial year ending June 30, 2023 (FY2023) and 52 sen paid for FY2022.

For the first half (1HFY2024), HLI’s net profit grew 22.35% to RM190.14 million from RM155.41 million, although revenue decreased by 8.5% to RM1.58 billion from RM1.73 billion.

Going forward, the group expects the motorcycle industry to remain stable for the remaining quarters of FY2024.

Shares of HLI rose 16 sen or 1.7% to RM9.58 at Wednesday’s close, translating into a market capitalisation of RM3.14 billion.