INDUSTRIAL conglomerate Hong Leong Asia on Tuesday (Aug 13) reported a net profit from continuing operations of S$49.4 million for the six months ended Jun 30, up 60.1 per cent from S$30.9 million year on year.
This translates to an earnings per share from continuing operations of S$0.0661, compared to S$0.0413 in H1 FY2023, the group said in a bourse filing.
Including discontinued operations, Hong Leong Asia’s net profit for the period was S$49.5 million, up 60.9 per cent from S$30.8 million in the corresponding year-ago period.
Discontinued operations refer to its air-conditioning systems unit, Airwell Air-conditioning Technology (China) and its subsidiary Airwell Air-conditioning (Hong Kong) Company, which ceased business operations in 2020.
The group has declared an interim dividend of S$0.01 per share, to be paid out on Sep 10.
Revenue increased 8.5 per cent to S$2.3 billion, from S$2.1 billion in H1 FY2023. The increase in revenue was mainly due to higher revenue recorded by its powertrain solutions unit, known as Yuchai, and its building materials unit.
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Yuchai’s H1 revenue was S$1.9 billion, up 9.3 per cent from S$1.8 billion the year before. The rise in Yuchai’s revenue was driven by higher engine sales, as its total number of engines sold climbed 16.3 per cent to 192,743 units in H1 FY2024.
Meanwhile, first-half revenue for the building materials unit came in at S$321.4 million, up 5 per cent from S$306.3 million year on year.
The increase in revenue under this unit was due to higher sales volumes by Tasek, Hong Leong Asia’s building materials unit in Malaysia, which was also bolstered by the softening of coal prices.
Commenting on its results, the group noted that Yuchai was doing well in China with strong unit sales growth in almost all segments. Yuchai is also continuing to invest in research and development initiatives to improve its powertrain portfolio, including the development of new energy solutions.
It also expects demand for Tasek in Malaysia to continue to improve with the increased infrastructure development expenditure. However, the group warned overall costs are expected to rise with the recent removal of diesel subsidies.
“Tasek is focused on improving its operational efficiency and increasing the use of recycled materials as well as alternative raw materials and fuels in our ongoing efforts to be more sustainable,” said Hong Leong Asia.
Hong Leong Asia shares ended 1.4 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.705 on Tuesday, before the announcement.
