KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): Protasco Bhd, which has businesses ranging from hotel to engineering, said on Thursday it has received an offer to buy its unit Ikram Education Sdn Bhd which owns the Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL).

Shares of Protasco surged following the announcement and gained as much as 10% to 27 sen, its highest since Dec 28, 2023. The stock closed at 26.5 sen on Thursday, still up about 8% or two sen, after more than 12.4 million shares changed hands on Bursa Malaysia.

Hong Kong-based Star Teenagers International Group Ltd (STI) has paid an unspecified earnest deposit for the acquisition, Protasco said in an exchange filing. STI will have three months to conduct due diligence on Ikram Education, Protasco noted.

“A detailed announcement regarding the proposed disposal will be made upon execution of the share sale agreement between the parties,” Protasco said.

The group's education segment has been loss-making since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, with a loss before tax of RM3.4 million in FY2020, RM6.6 million in FY2021, and RM15.3 million in FY2022, as student population fell. The group's financial year ends on Dec 31.

For FY2023, the education segment saw its loss before tax narrow to RM9.03 million due to lower lecturer fees and lower operating expenses. Revenue climbed 3% to RM25 million from RM24.24 million, due to higher international student fees and franchise fees.

At the group level, Protasco reported a turnaround with a net profit of RM6.48 million in FY2023, compared to a net loss of RM29.38 million in FY2022. Revenue surged 28% to RM1.13 billion from RM883.94 million.