Press Metal Aluminium recorded 36% YoY drop in net profit in Q2 2019; Revenue declined 12.5%

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, the leading aluminium producer in South East Asia, has reported a drop of 36 per cent in net profit in the second quarter of the year ended on June 30. The profit came in at RM102.89 million, compared to RM160.6 million in the same period last year.

With this, earnings per share in Q2 2019 came down to 2.56 sen from 4.15 sen year-on-year, while revenue dropped 12.5 per cent from RM2.44 billion in Q2 2018 to RM2.13 billion.

The total net profit for the first half of the year (H1 2019) stood down as well at RM217.99 million from RM311.08 million in the same period last year. Revenue for the same period contracted from RM4.56 billion in H1 2018 to RM4.3 billion.

Nevertheless, Press Metal's board of directors have approved a second interim single tier dividend of 1.25 sen per share, amounting to RM50.44 million, in respect of FY19, payable on Sept 24.

The company said its low-cost model ensured profitability, while the former had been operating in a challenging macro environment exacerbated by ongoing trade tensions.

With alumina prices dropping to approximately US$300 per tonne in August 2019 from the year high of US$417 per tonne, Press Metal expects profit margins to improve in the latter part of 2019.

"Aluminium, being the emerging metal of choice with its green characteristics, has the potential to further replace traditional materials. The long-term prospects are promising as we foresee wider applications across multiple industries," the aluminium producer added.

Tan Sri Paul Koon, group chief executive officer, said that besides being hopeful about improved profit margins the company is also positive of its upcoming Phase 3 smelter plant in Samalaju, which is expected to have production capacity increased by 42 per cent.

"We expect positive financial contributions from this expansion commencing 4Q20. In addition, we expect our investment in PT Bintan Alumina Indonesia to further boost our earnings once the refinery is completed by end 2020.”

"Subsequent to the memorandum of understanding, we are now in the final stages of ironing out the terms for our investment. With our strong operating cashflow of more than RM1 billion per year and the tranched-out nature of these investments, we are comfortable that our gearing ratio will be manageable during this expansion phase," Koon added.

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