KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): Swift Haulage Bhd (KL:SWIFT), the country's largest container haulier by the number of prime movers, saw its net profit fall 14.3% to RM8.33 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024), from RM9.72 million a year earlier, attributed to lower profit margins.

As a result, earnings per share came in lower at 0.95 sen for 2QFY2024, compared with 1.48 sen for 2QFY2023.

However, revenue for 2QFY2024 grew 4.7% to RM172.87 million, from RM165.1 million a year earlier. The container haulage and land transportation segments collectively contributed about 75.3% of total revenue.

For the latest quarter, the integrated logistics service provider declared a dividend of 0.8 sen per share, unchanged from the same period last year. The ex-date is Sept 18, with the dividend payable on Oct 3.

For the first half ended June 30, 2024 (1HFY2024), net profit jumped 48.5% to RM29.48 million, from RM19.85 million a year earlier, mainly due to disposal gains booked in 1QFY2024. Revenue rose 6.9% to RM352.22 million, from RM329.85 million for the same period last year.

On its prospects, Swift Haulage anticipates its 2HFY2024 performance to grow in line with Malaysia’s trade performance, which is on an improving trend. The company also highlighted that it "continues to experience growing demand for our warehousing services".

“Our acquisition of a 118,000 sq ft warehouse in Penang has been completed in August, which provides us an opportunity to expand our warehousing presence in the northern region of [Peninsular] Malaysia," it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Friday.

"Additionally, our associate company Global Vision Logistics Sdn Bhd is on track to finalise Phase I of the Shah Alam International Logistics Hub by 4Q2025, further strengthening our warehousing capacity,” it added.

In a separate statement, Swift Haulage group chief executive officer Loo Yong Hui said: "Looking forward to the rest of the year, our sustainability agenda will remain a top priority. We are committed to reducing carbon emissions through the construction of environmentally friendly warehouses, the operation of electric vehicle (EV) trucks, and the installation of solar panels at our facilities. Our two EV trucks, which began operation in January, have already reduced carbon emissions by 120 tonnes, and we are actively exploring the expansion of our EV fleet to further reduce our carbon footprint.”

Swift Haulage shares closed up 1.5 sen or 3.1% at 50.5 sen on Friday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM451.13 million.