KUALA LUMPUR (July 21): Chemical manufacturer Ancom Nylex Bhd (KL:ANCOMNY) reported its strongest quarterly earnings in almost four years, thanks to higher contributions from its industrial chemicals business.

Net profit for the fourth quarter ended May 31, 2026 (4QFY2026) rose more than 46% to RM25.03 million from RM17.07 million a year earlier, according to the group's Bursa Malaysia filing on Tuesday. Revenue increased over 32% to RM608.88 million from RM459.37 million.

The industrial chemicals segment reported a significant rise in profit to RM27.1 million from RM8.7 million in 4QFY2025, supported by stronger profit margins and greater operational efficiency in the distribution business, the group said.

The agriculture chemicals segment, meanwhile, saw its earnings decline to RM25.8 million from RM27.1 million previously due to weaker US dollar-denominated revenue.

Elsewhere, the investment holding division recorded a higher segmental loss of RM7.3 million versus RM4.0 million a year earlier amid increased operating costs while the polymer division saw a segmental loss of RM3.5 million as compared to a profit of RM900,000. The logistics segment saw its profit increase to RM2.3 million from RM1.9 million previously.

For the full financial year, Ancom Nylex posted a net profit of RM81.44 million from RM63.49 million in FY2025. Full-year revenue rose to RM1.93 billion from RM1.87 billion.

The group has proposed a third interim dividend of 0.5 sen per share along with a distribution of treasury shares on the basis of one treasury share for every 200 shares.

“We are heartened to have broadly matched our all-time high bottom-line performance in FY2026 despite heightened market uncertainties and persistent headwinds," said managing director and group CEO Datuk Lee Cheun Wei in a statement. "This was anchored by our industrial chemicals segment.

"Our agrichem division also delivered healthy underlying demand growth, though this was masked by the weaker US dollar, which reduced the ringgit value of its export revenue. At the same time, the Middle East conflict has kept freight and input costs elevated across the industry,” Lee added.

He said the agrichem segment's outlook is promising, supported by healthy demand and sustained favourable crop prices.
 
"Encouragingly, orders for our core active ingredient product for soybean application have begun flowing in following the label approval secured earlier this year. We are optimistic about this new market — Brazil's total soybean-planted area is around five times that of sugarcane, which we serve — and we expect demand to gradually gather pace," he said.

Shares of Ancom Nylex closed one sen or 1.1% lower at 86 sen on Tuesday, valuing the group at RM994.75 million.