KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): Despite ongoing Middle East tensions, Golden Destinations Group Bhd (KL:GDGROUP), a business-to-business travel curator that debuted on the ACE Market on Thursday, expects stronger profit and margins this year, supported by robust travel demand from Asia.

Managing director Mita Lim said the group’s outlook remains intact despite the ongoing regional conflict. 

While it has seen tour cancellations, rescheduling and travel delays for flights to Europe and the Middle East, the impact is expected to be temporary as customers redirect their travel plans to alternative destinations. 

According to him, the affected bookings amounted to about RM9.35 million, of which refund requests totalled approximately RM2.48 million.

“Definitely, there are some losses for us but it's not that significant…we believe that if customers change their destinations, the losses can be recovered. We are seeing travel demand shift to East Asia, including China, as well as Southeast Asia...it is a mix,” he said at a press conference after the group’s listing. 

“Just watch out for the space, but we are hopeful of achieving better profitability for this year as we believe the conflict will end soon,” said Lim, who is also the group’s largest shareholder. 

Golden Destinations operates primarily in the business-to-business segment, supplying travel and cruise packages to a network of over 800 licensed travel agents nationwide, rather than selling directly to consumers. It also provides ancillary services such as flight ticketing. 

According to the group’s prospectus, China was the largest revenue contributor, accounting for 36.31% of total revenue for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2025 (FY2025), followed by East Asia (23.83%), Europe (17.06%), Southeast Asia (15.78%), and other regions, including the Middle East and Africa.

Executive director and chief corporate officer Lim Swee Chuan said the group remains optimistic about outbound travel demand in the fourth quarter, particularly during school holidays, the year-end festive season and major festive periods in Malaysia, typically from September to February, which is expected to support its margins and earnings.

For FY2025, the group’s net profit fell 10.4% to RM28.33 million from RM31.61 million, while revenue slipped 0.9% to RM592.4 million from RM597.5 million, due to lower profit margins and reduced income. 

Golden Destinations made its ACE Market debut at a premium, rising nearly 9% from its initial public offering (IPO) price of 45 sen. The stock was last up 1.5 sen or 3.33% at 46.5 sen at the time of writing on Thursday, with about 66 million shares traded.

The company raised approximately RM90 million from its IPO which will be used to fund the establishment of a new centralised headquarters, branding and marketing initiatives, expansion into Sarawak and Singapore, capital expenditure on IT systems and infrastructure, workforce expansion, as well as working capital.

Read also:
Tourism firm Golden Destinations rises 9% in ACE Market debut
Golden Destinations records RM8.1 mil in 1Q net profit ahead of ACE Market listing
Tourism firm Golden Destinations sees ACE Market IPO oversubscribed by 2.1 times
ACE Market-bound Golden Destinations still bullish on travel business despite Iran war
Tourism firm Golden Destinations launches ACE Market IPO at 45 sen