Sime Darby's group CEO Datuk Jeffri Salim Davidson
KUALA LUMPUR: Sime Darby Bhd
experienced a strong start to its 2025 financial year, with contribution from its newly acquired Toyota and Perodua businesses.
Group CEO Datuk Jeffri Salim Davison said the group's motor division is seeing encouraging trends, especially in Singapore where the shift towards electric vehicles continue to gain momentum.
He added that the group is taking proactive steps to optimise its portfolio in China, where conditions remain challenging.
“Apart from that, we have also successfully lowered our inventories during the quarter following our inventory reduction initiatives, which resulted in higher operating cash flows," he said in a statement.
In the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2024, Sime Darby recorded a net profit of RM800mil, up from RM589mil in the year-ago quarter, which translates to an earnings per share of 11.7 sen against 8.6 sen previously.
The group reported revenue of RM18.26bil during the quarter under review, against RM13.98bil in the comparative quarter.
In the motors division, Sime Darby reported an overall profit before interest and tax (PBIT) of RM190mil in 1QFY25, which was 6.4% lower year-on-year, although the strong EV sales in Singapore helped to offset challenges in other markets.
Meanwhile, the industrial division recorded a PBIT of RM343mil in 1QFY25, which was a 4.2% decrease over the previous year.
It said Australasia recorded lower profits mainly due to the impact of a parts price reduction, but this was partially offset by contributions from the group’s two new subsidiaries, Onsite Rental Group and Cavpower Group.
Jeffri said the group's refreshed brand identity, Sime, reflects its ongoing commitment to innovation, sustainability and customer-centricity, ensuring it remains at the forefront of the industries it operates in.
“Our refreshed identity reflects who we are today and our aspirations for the future. We remain focused on strengthening our core businesses of industrial equipment and automotive and will continue to bridge opportunities to unlock value for our stakeholders,” he said.
