KUALA LUMPUR: Gamuda Bhd's net profit rose 5.3 per cent to RM205.39 million in the first quarter ended Oct 31, 2024 (1Q25) from RM195.04 million a year ago, its filing to Bursa Malaysia showed.
The growth was driven by a 20 per cent increase in earnings from construction projects, while property earnings fell 17 per cent following the completion of Vietnam's Celadon City at the end of last year.
Revenue for the quarter increased to RM4.2 billion from RM2.8 billion previously, driven by stronger construction revenue from overseas and domestic projects.
According to Gamuda, the group's revenue and earnings continue to grow on the back of a record-breaking construction orderbook of RM30 billion.
The group registered higher earnings per share of 7.31 sen compared to 7.26 sen in 1Q24.
Meanwhile, Gamuda said its overseas property earnings are expected to rise as building progress picks up at all recently launched quick-turnaround-projects (QTPs) including Vietnam's Eaton Park Phase 1 which was fully sold within a week of its launch.
It noted that quarterly construction revenue and earnings rose 38 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.
This was due to higher earnings contribution from overseas projects especially Australia and domestic projects such as Penang reclamation works.
The group's overseas earnings contribute almost half of total construction earnings.
The group said its property sales rose 39 per cent to RM633 million compared with RM454 million sold in the same quarter the previous year, spearheaded by several QTPs in Vietnam.
Looking ahead, Gamuda anticipates that this year's performance will be largely driven by overseas and domestic construction activities.
This includes construction of several data centres and higher contribution from the property division's various QTPs.
"The resilience of the group is underpinned by an all-time-high construction orderbook of RM30 billion and unbilled property sales of RM6.9 billion.
"The group also has a healthy balance sheet with a comfortable net gearing of 39 per cent, well below its self-imposed gearing limit of 70 per cent," it noted.