KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Corporation Bhd's net profit increased 9.4 per cent to RM93.5 million (US$22.6 million) for the third quarter ended March 31, 2021 from RM85.4 million (US$20.6 million) in the preceding quarter.
Its pre-tax profit remained consistent at RM194.7 million (US$47 million), down a marginal 1.1 per cent from RM196.9 million (US$47.5 million).
Group revenue for the period was RM4.22 billion (US$1.02 billion), down about eight per cent from the previous quarter's RM4.59 billion (US$1.11 billion).
YTL Corp executive chairman, Tan Sri Dr. Francis Yeoh Sock Ping said there was a good recovery, particularly in the group's key utility division which registered a marked turnaround in the merchant multi-utilities sub-segment in Singapore.
Other divisions that contributed positively to the group's revenue and net profit were cement and construction.
Yeoh said in a statement issued today that the group's EBITDA remained solid at RM3.1 billion for the cumulative nine months, despite challenging circumstances faced during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
He said EBITDA was supported primarily by the group's utilities held under YTL Power International Bhd, cement (Malayan Cement Bhd), and construction business segments.
YTL Power saw its third-quarter revenue increase to RM2.64 billion (US$637 million) with a pre-tax profit of RM168.9 million (US$40.7 million), compared to revenue of RM2.62 billion (US$632 million) and pre-tax profit of RM206.6 million (US$49.9 million) for the last quarter.
Yeoh, who is executive chairman of YTL Power, said its revenue remained strong at RM2.6 billion, while the lower pre-tax profit was mainly due to the absence of the gain from a litigation award recorded in the previous quarter ended December 31, 2020.
For the cumulative nine months, YTL Power registered a revenue of RM7.8 billion compared to RM8.3 billion a year ago.
YTL Power's profit rose 65 per cent to RM363.6 million from RM220.7 million for the same period last year.
"Throughout the ongoing pandemic, the essential nature of the services provided by our utilities has continued to underscore the resilience of these businesses," Yeoh said.
YTL Power declared an interim cash dividend of 2.0 sen per share in respect of the year ending 30 June 2021.
Yeoh said the interim dividend represented a yield of about three per cent based on the prevailing share price of RM0.70 per share.
Malayan Cement returned to the black for the quarter ended March 31, recording a pre-tax profit of RM4 million (US$1 million) compared to a pre-tax loss of RM6.4 million (US$1.5 million) in the last quarter.
The company recorded a 6.9 per cent increase in revenue to RM374.8 million (US$90.5 million) compared to RM350.5 million (US$84.7 million) previously.
Yeoh, who is also executive chairman of Malayan Cement, said there was an improvement in revenue and earnings as a result of increased domestic cement and clinker sales, coupled with improved export levels.
For YTL Hospitality REIT, there was a slight improvement in revenue with RM79 million recorded in the quarter ended March 31, 2021, compared to RM78.8 million previously.
Net property income stood at RM48.4 million for the current quarter compared to RM49.1 million in the last quarter.
According to Yeoh, the income available for distribution increased to RM19 million compared to RM17.4 million for the last quarter.
The REIT's revenue from the hotel segment approximated that of the preceding quarter due mainly to the participation of the hotels in its Australian portfolio in the government isolation group business.
"In our property rental segment, revenue and net property income from the Malaysian and Japanese properties for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, remained relatively consistent with the previous quarter ended December 31, 2020," Yeoh said.