KUALA LUMPUR: Pharmaniaga Bhd is upbeat after posting a promising first quarter (Q1) result ended March 31, 2021 with a higher net profit of RM23 million from RM22 million a year ago.
Pharmaniaga said its performance was supported by reduced finance cost as a result of Bank Negara Malaysia's lower overnight policy rate, coupled with reduced operating cost due to the ongoing cost containment exercise implemented throughout the company.
However, the company's revenue eased 3.2 per cent to RM793 million from RM820 million in the previous year's corresponding quarter.
"This was mainly attributable to lower demand from the Indonesian business due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, which saw the company registering lower earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of RM45 million," it said.
On the front end, Pharmaniaga's Malaysian operations remained consistent.
There was a drop in demand from the Indonesian businesses due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic which impacted earnings, it said.
Nevertheless, the company remains committed to delivering shareholder value as the board of directors declared a first interim dividend of 4.0 sen.
Group managing director Datuk Zulkarnain Md Eusope said amid the challenges brought about by Covid-19 which were expected to persist given new waves of cases around the world, Pharmaniaga was focused on the supply and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.
"This is the priority for Pharmaniaga and the company privileged to continue to be entrusted with this critical role in Malaysia's fight against the pandemic," said Zulkarnain.
"We are making good progress on this front, with approval granted by the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency for the fill and finish manufacturing of the Sinovac Covid-19 vaccine."
The distribution of the vaccine to the government would commence this month, he added.
Zulkarnain said the company had brought in 400,000 doses of the Sinovac Covid-19 finished product and distributed them to the government healthcare facilities.
He said building on this, Pharmaniaga was honoured to be appointed to manage the logistics and distribution of AstraZeneca vaccines to government facilities, which was in progress.
"Furthermore, as part of our long-term sustainable growth plans driven by iconic initiatives which we are implementing, we aim to accelerate the growth of our vaccine manufacturing business by embarking on a Halal vaccine project.
"This will see the company establishing the world's first Halal vaccine facility, which is targeted for completion by 2022, creating a new stream of income for Pharmaniaga by 2024," he said.
Meanwhile, Zulkarnain said Pharmaniaga would continue to strengthen its private sector business via strategic advertising and marketing campaigns, with a strong focus on the consumer healthcare segment.
With the strategic branding exposure, key products such as Citrex Vitamin C, Baraka, Actimol and Perozin were being well received by consumers, he added.
"To further drive our growth, we are leveraging on digitalisation within our value chain and utilising advanced technologies in our logistics supply chain such as the newly implemented Oracle Transport Management System which will help to automate the end-to-end transportation business processes.
"All these initiatives will ultimately enable us to better serve the nation's needs to the best of our ability," he said.