KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 28): Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd’s fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (4QFY2023) net profit fell 61.88% to RM37.36 million, from RM98.02 million a year ago, due to lower operating profit dragged by lower profit contribution from all divisions except building materials division.

Operating profit in the quarter dropped 24% to RM170.6 million from RM223.3 million in 4QFY2022. Earnings per share fell to 1.50 sen from 3.94 sen a year earlier, according to the group’s filing on Wednesday.

Quarterly revenue declined 26.91% to RM1.31 billion against RM1.79 billion in the previous year, mainly due to lower revenue from its credit financing, automotive and trading divisions.

For the full year, Hap Seng’s net profit fell 15.81% to RM800.33 million as compared to RM950.66 million in FY2022, as revenue slid 14.41% to RM6.09 billion from RM7.11 billion a year ago.

Despite the lower FY2023 earnings, Hap Seng, which trades in fertilisers and building materials and sells Mercedes-Benz vehicles, said that it is cautiously optimistic of achieving satisfactory results for FY2024.

Shares in Hap Seng finished 10 sen or 2.12% lower to RM4.62 on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation at RM11.5 billion. The counter has fallen 23.13% over the past one year.