KUALA LUMPUR (May 1): Logistics solutions provider Tasco Bhd saw its net profit for the financial quarter ended March 31, 2024 (4QFY2024) fell 18% year-on-year, attributable to lower profit reported in its air freight forwarding and ocean freight forwarding divisions, as freight rates fell to pre-pandemic levels.
Net profit for the quarter stood at RM17.86 million, down from 4QFY2023's RM21.8 million, though revenue edged up 0.7% to RM268.46 million from RM266.64 million.
For the full year, net profit dropped 32% to RM61.74 million from RM90.8 million, as revenue fell 33.2% to RM1.07 billion from RM1.61 billion.
Tasco declared a final dividend of 2.35 sen for FY2024, to be paid on May 31, down one sen from the 3.5 sen declared for FY2023.
Its freight forwarding division's profit before tax (PBT) fell 78.1% to RM9.02 million in FY2024 from RM41.27 million in FY2023, while its ocean freight forwarding division's PBT dropped 92.4% to RM1.19 million from RM15.64 million. Its contract logistics division also saw a 30.2% decline in PBT to RM33.24 million from RM47.6 million.
The declines were partly mitigated by its cold supply chain division's PBT, which jumped 91% to RM14.11 million from RM7.39 million.
Tasco said the economic environment had largely normalised in FY2024, compared to when the pandemic disrupted supply chains in 2020 to 2022 and resulted in soaring international freight rates for both ocean and air, which the group had benefited from.
Hence, freight rates had "generally fallen to, or even below, pre-pandemic levels due to more equipment supply and slowing global demand” in FY2024, it said. The year had also been challenging due to global inflationary pressures that brought about the tightening of monetary policy by central banks around the world, coupled with a slowdown in the global economy, it noted.
Nevertheless, it remains cautiously optimistic about its prospects for FY2025, as the International Monetary Fund has projected an uptick in global economic activities, while Bank Negara Malaysia expects a recovery in external demand.
Tasco shares closed unchanged at 83.5 sen on Tuesday, valuing the group at RM664.02 million.