Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd group chief executive officer Tan Sri Paul Koon
KUALA LUMPUR: Press Metal
Aluminium Holdings Bhd sees numerous opportunities arising from potential manufacturing relocation activities driven by geopolitical tension or decentralisation due to lockdown risks.
“Our investment in an alumina refinery in Indonesia has yielded positive results and we continue to envisage steady contribution from this inorganic growth venture,” group chief executive officer Tan Sri Paul Koon said in a statement.
He added that the group is actively pursuing growth opportunities while maintaining financial resilience.
Koon said despite the challenging environment, Press Metal continued to grow its in-house value-added products (VAP) volume demonstrating that it has continuously increased its market penetration.
“Our proactive approach in selling-forward and hedging practices has mitigated some of the impact of softened prices in the current challenging market situation. On a positive note, raw materials cost and freight cost are on a declining trajectory in tandem with aluminium price,” he added.
Koon noted that there is an emerging trend of rising aluminium usage in green industries, especially both the transport and energy sectors which are showing rapid growth and becoming visibly promising in replacing some of the weaker demand in traditional applications.
“We are well positioned to align our growth with the complementary prospects of electric vehicles and the advancement of solar installation,” he said.
Press Metal’s net profit fell 25.3% year-on-year to RM305.8mil, or earnings per share of 3.73 sen in the second quarter ended June 30 from RM409.2mil, or 4.97 sen.
Revenue for quarter declined 6.2% to RM3.7bil from RM4bil previously.
In the first six months to June 30, the group posted a net profit of RM587.8mil, down 29.2% from RM830.2mil a year prior while revenue fell 13.8% to RM6.8bil versus RM7.9bil last year.
Press Metal has declared a second interim dividend of 1.75 sen per share amounting to RM144.2mil, representing a payout ratio of 47% of net profit.
The book closure and payment dates for the aforesaid dividend are Sept 18 and Sept 29 respectively.
