Mudajaya’s claim against CMC Machipex dismissed

Manjung 4 started operations at 12.01am yesterday. It is South-East Asia's most efficient power plant.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre For Arbitration has dismissed the claim filed by Mudajaya Group Bhd’s unit Mudajaya Corp Bhd (MCB) against CMC Machipex Sdn Bhd for the principal sum of RM175.33mil together with late payment interest and cost.

Mudajaya, which made an amended announcement to Bursa Malaysia on Tuesday, did not mention the dismissal, which took place last Friday, in its original announcement the previous day.

“MCB intends to pursue this claim matter in accordance to the provisions of the subcontract agreement which includes negotiations via Dispute Adjudication Board and arbitration,” the construction and property development group said.

Mudajaya had said in the original statement that “the decision of the adjudicator” -- without mentioning what the decision was -- would have a negative impact of RM98.35mil on the group’s earnings of the Mudajaya Group for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016, as the said amount had been recognised as revenue in prior years.

CMC had engaged Mudajaya Corp as the subcontractor to execute and complete certain works associated with TNB Janamanjung Sdn Bhd’s RM6bil ultra-supercritical coal-fired 1,000MW power plant project in Manjung, Perak (dubbed Manjung 4) a few years ago.

While CMC admitted some of the claims made by Mudajaya, it disputed the rest and, in turn, launched a counterclaim in the form of a “set off” in the amount of RM61.76mil.

For the nine months ended Sept 30, 2016, the Mudajaya group reported revenue of RM519mil and a loss before tax (LBT) of RM133.8mil. The sharp increase in LBT from RM12mil in the previous year’s corresponding period was mainly due to equity accounting of associate losses from RKM Powergen Pvt Ltd and impairment of assets provided for during the second quarter of 2016.