KUALA LUMPUR: Yong Tai Bhd (YTB) managed to narrow its net loss to RM8.3 million for its financial year ended 30 June 2021 (FY21) compared to a net loss of RM47.05 million in the same period a year ago.
Revenue for FY21 jumped by 2.7 per cent to RM114.3 million mainly due to the advanced stage of progressive revenue recognition for its ongoing development projects that are near completion.
Chief executive officer Datuk Wira Boo Kuang Loon said it had been a challenging year amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, severely affecting the economy.
"We are, however, fortunate to have a supportive group of shareholders and an agile management team that helped us navigate through this crisis," he said in a statement today.
The company's improved financial result for its FY21 was mainly due to the advanced work progress from its ongoing development projects following the resumption of construction works post Movement Control Order (MCO).
Looking ahead, YTB will restructure its existing business and diversified its income stream to reduce the overreliance on the property and tourism market.
YTB has ventured into key areas, including vaccine distribution and the expansion into gold mining in Pahang.
Boo said the key emphasis in YTB's expansion is the focus on collaboration with valued partners.
Among some of the restructuring plans the company is looking into is the monetisation of Encore Melaka theatre through digital tokenisation.
This will put YTB as one of the first public-listed companies in Malaysia to tap on the potential within the blockchain space.
In its venture into the distribution of vaccine business, YTB partner with China-based vaccine manufacturer Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co Ltd (SZKT) to exclusively distribute the inactivated Covid-19 Vaccine in Malaysia.
Currently, it is undergoing the Phase III clinical trial in the country.
"The development of Phase III clinical trial is very promising. The enrolment of 3,000 volunteers for the clinical trial will be completed by the end of August 2021, which is faster than expected.
"The active participation of the volunteers is a reflection of the public confidence in SZKT's Covid-19 trial vaccines.
"We're also optimistic that the clinical trial data, which will be available soon, will be quite promising, as seen by those in China.
"While we are waiting for the interim clinical trial data, we will also be applying to National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) for Conditional Registration Approval (CRA) in Malaysia," Boo said.
YTB is confident that the venture into the distribution of vaccines will pay off in FY22, as seen by the positive development recently.
SZKT has already obtained the Emergency Usage Approval (EUA) in China and has started deploying in Guangdong province since 1 June 2021.
Until 15 August 2021, a total of 14.1 million doses of SZKT's KCONVAC Covid-19 vaccine have been administered, free of severe adverse reaction.
The result demonstrates lower adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) rate and a good safety profile compared to other vaccines.
SZKT said the vaccine could protect against various mutations of the novel coronavirus, including the increasingly dominant Delta variant, and several countries are currently undergoing Phase III clinical trials, including Malaysia, Ukraine, the Philippines and Mexico.
Meanwhile, YTB's expansion into gold mining as the sole and exclusive mining operator at an area covering 100 hectares (247.11 acres) in Pahang will also be another key catalyst for earnings growth.
The company has resumed the exploration and preparation works recently.
The monthly gold production capacity is estimated at 20kg per month with the assumption of an average gold price of around RM200,000 per kg.
With that, YTB is set to record a revenue of RM4 million per month from its gold mining venture.
The company expects the production to commence soon, which will positively contribute to its financial results in FY22.