KUALA LUMPUR: Construction giant Gamuda Bhd is targeting to secure at least RM10 billion of order book next year from the Penang South Islands (PSI) and Australia projects.
Gamuda Engineering managing director Justin Chin Jing Ho said as at November this year, Gamuda's order book stood at RM4.5 billion.
This will help sustain the company's earnings for more for the next two years.
"For the next financial year, we are carrying forward our order book replenishment target of RM10 billion from last year, just under half of which comes from the PSI reclamation and the remainder from Australia," he said at a virtual press conference after Gamuda's annual general meeting today.
Chin said the company was bidding for a number of projects in Australia and targeting an orderbook of A$5 billion to A$6 billion in the next few years.
He said the target should be reasonable as the Australian government had earmarked over A$100 billion worth of infrastructure projects over the next decade, especially railway-related projects to boost the country's economic recovery .
"As of now, we are awaiting the results of two tenders from the Australian projects. They are expected to come up in the next one or two quarters.
"Within 2022, we are targeting another three to four new tenders in the Australian market. Gamuda is also looking to expand our current base of ongoing projects secured in the last few years in the Taiwan and Singapore markets as we have a good presence in this market," he said.
On the Mass Rapid Transit Line 3 (MRT3) project, Chin said the company was still waiting for the government to outline a clear plan for the project.
"For now, everything is still relatively speculative. And we hope to hear the government's decision in the coming few months," he said.
Chin said Gamuda was looking to expand its orderbook and capability to meet the right target markets.
"Hopefully next year will be more encouraging, as regional governments are looking at infrastructure spending to lead post pandemic economic recovery," he added.
Gamuda posted a net profit of RM214.1 million for the fourth quarter ended July 31, 2021, compared to a loss of RM12.5 million in the same quarter last year.
For the full-year, its net profit rose to RM588.31 million from RM376.5 million, while revenue was slightly lower at RM3.51 billion from RM3.66 billion previously.