KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): UEM Edgenta Bhd (KL:EDGENTA) is setting its sights on strengthening its international footprint, following the new contract wins led by those in Singapore and Taiwan.

It is seeing promising long-term growth in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, according to managing director and chief executive officer Syahrunizam Samsudin.

Almost 79% of the company’s new order book wins in 2024 — or RM2.2 billion of total RM2.8 billion total contract wins — came from international markets, with Singapore and Taiwan at the forefront, Syahrunizam revealed during a financial results briefing on Thursday. 

He highlighted that the Middle East, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, is quickly emerging as a strategic market, driven by large-scale construction and real estate developments.

And the group's acquisition of UAE-based Kaizen Group in December 2023 provided the platform for the company to scale up the property management market value chain in the Middle East region, he noted.

“While our total order book remains anchored on domestic business in infrastructure, the general move is really towards building a more robust international presence.

“The markets that we are in have three important characteristics: a natural advantage through past acquisitions or relationships, high-margin and high-growth potential, and opportunities to promote Malaysian talent globally,” he added.

Despite the international push, Syahrunizam maintained that UEM Edgenta is not looking to explore new countries, though acknowledging that the company’s diversification strategy — initiated during the Covid-19 pandemic — has been the key to building resilience.

“For now, we don’t intend to enter new markets. There’s still a lot of room to grow in the markets we’re already in, and we want to entrench ourselves as a brand name there,” he said.

Beyond Malaysia, the healthcare support services and property and facility solutions provider is currently present in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.   

“In markets like Singapore and Taiwan, the continued focus on healthcare and public transport infrastructure, alongside transport-oriented developments, has created significant opportunities for us. Our tech-first approach through our technology platform, Asseto, also aligns well with market expectations, where service providers are expected to be digitally enabled,” he said.

Currently, UEM Edgenta’s revenue split stands at approximately 60% domestic and 40% international. 

“It’s not that we want to grow international at the expense of domestic businesses,” Syahrunizam clarified. “But these markets are growing a lot faster than Malaysia, and that’s why new wins seem more significant this year. We want a balanced portfolio, where we pursue the most accretive projects that translate to dividends for our investors,” he added. 

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024 (FY2024), UEM Edgenta posted a 66.3% jump in net profit to RM51.75 million from RM31.11 million, while annual revenue grew 5.9% to RM3.05 billion, compared with RM2.88 billion previously.

The solid growth was primarily attributed to its expansion in international business through major contract renewals and new contract wins, along with enhanced operational efficiencies and strategic cost management initiatives implemented throughout the year.

The company claimed it has achieved savings of RM41.1 million in FY2024, as part of its cost-saving initiatives targeting a total of RM150 million by the end of FY2029. 

Shares of UEM Edgenta closed up 6.5 sen or 9.22% at 77 sen on Thursday, for a market capitalisation of RM640.4 million. 

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