The company's net profit for the first quarter tumbled to RM7mil from RM14.22mil a year earlier.
PETALING JAYA: Tasco Bhd
, one of Malaysia’s largest cold-chain providers, began its financial year 2025 (FY25) on a weak footing after its net profit was slashed by half in the first quarter.
Hit by higher “buying freight rates” and narrower pre-tax earnings for its international and domestic business segments, Tasco also cautioned shareholders about “a challenging operating environment” in the remaining quarters.
The group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday that its net profit for the first quarter ended June 30 tumbled to RM7mil from RM14.22mil a year earlier. This lowered earnings per share to 0.88 sen.
Revenue also fell by 1.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM249.93mil, which is the company’s weakest first-quarter top line since the Covid-19 pandemic.
In its international business solutions segment, the air freight forwarding (AFF) division reported 25.7% stronger revenue y-o-y to RM63.7mil, largely due to fast moving consumer goods and aerospace customers.
Despite that, the pre-tax profit of the AFF division fell to RM1.5mil in the first quarter.
Similarly, the pre-tax profit of the supply-chain solutions (SCS) division slumped by nearly 60% y-o-y due to the trading business, even though the division’s revenue rose 45% to RM10mil.
The revenue increases in the AFF and SCS segments were partially offset by the revenue drop in the ocean freight forwarding (OFF) division.
The OFF division’s revenue declined by 1.9% y-o-y to RM27.1mil, caused by reduced shipments from customers in the electric glass and insulation building material sectors.
Under the domestic business solutions segment, the contract logistics (CL) division reported a 16.2% y-o-y decline in revenue to RM87mil.
While there were stronger contributions from the eCommerce business, a drop in shipments by a major energy customer affected by US sanctions caused the Customs clearance and haulage businesses to experience a revenue downturn.
The pre-tax profit of the CL division also declined by 18.7% to RM6.1mil.
The cold supply chain (CSC) division recorded a 2.3% y-o-y increase in revenue to RM41.1mil, largely from newly secured cold-chain logistics and dairy products customers.However, it was partially offset by the loss of a convenience-retail customer as well as drop in business from fast-food related customers affected by boycotts arising from tensions in the Middle East.
The CSC division saw an increase in pre-tax profit of about 12% to RM3.5ml.
Meanwhile, revenue for the trucking business fell 12.4% y-o-y to RM21.1mil, despite securing new business from automotive as well as electrical and electronics customers.
Nevertheless, pre-tax profit for the trucking segment rose by 88.6% y-o-y to RM1.9mil.
Looking ahead, Tasco said it will continue to service its customers with innovative logistics solutions and expand its logistics capacity when it is beneficial to shareholder value.
“The extension of our four-storey warehouse will create another 400,000 sq ft of lettable space, which will be joined to the existing four-storey warehouse of 600,000 sq ft.
“Construction has already commenced and is anticipated to be fully completed in 2026,” according to Tasco.
