KUCHING: Harbour-Link Group Bhd anticipates that traffic for its container shipping services, which have been performing well, will continue to increase.
“All container shipping services are performing favourably well, except during the Chinese New Year period. We foresee traffic picking up and freight rates remaining stable in the coming quarter.
“We are confident that the shipping and marine division will deliver satisfactory results,” said the Bintulu-based company.
In the second quarter ending December 31, 2024 (2Q2024), Harbour-Link’s shipping and marine segment posted a remarkable 64 per cent increase in after-tax profit, reaching RM27.4 million from RM16.73 million in the corresponding period of 2023. This growth was driven by an eight per cent increase in revenue, which rose to RM168.7 million from RM156 million.
“The profit before tax of RM58.42 million represents an increase of RM27.83 million, or 91 per cent, compared to RM30.58 million recorded in the preceding financial period ending December 31, 2023. The significant rise in profit before tax is due to additional cargo tonnage carried and higher freight rates,” Harbour-Link added.
Harbour-Link Group provides container shipping liner services within Malaysia and the intra-Asia market. As of June 30, 2024, the group operates 12 container vessels with a total capacity of 7,277 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).
The shipping and marine segment contributed the bulk of Harbour-Link’s group net profit of RM29 million in the current quarter under review. Group revenue saw a substantial increase, reaching RM281.2 million compared to RM236.6 million recorded in 2Q2023. This segment comprises ship ownership, ship operations, and agency units.
The company improved its earnings per share to 7.28 sen from 4.36 sen and has declared an interim dividend of 3 sen per share.
In the current quarter, the integrated logistics segment reported weaker earnings, with after-tax profit declining by 21 per cent to RM4.31 million (2Q2023: RM5.49 million) despite a sharp 38 per cent increase in revenue to RM67.98 million (RM49.3 million). The lower profit was attributed to higher overhead costs resulting from project implementation delays.
The machinery trading segment also recorded a decline in after-tax profit, dropping 42 per cent to RM1.79 million (RM3.1 million), even though revenue increased to RM31.87 million (RM23.2 million). Harbour-Link attributed the lower earnings to a shift in sales toward machinery rather than spare parts, which yield a lower profit margin.
The engineering segment performed well and returned to profitability, posting an after-tax profit of RM2.03 million (-RM841,000). This improvement was in tandem with substantially higher revenue of RM11.34 million (RM7.33 million) as its project reached a key milestone.
The property development segment also delivered an after-tax profit of RM210,000 (-RM495,000), as revenue more than doubled to RM1.33 million (RM640,000).
The 2Q2024 financial results reflected an improvement over the immediate preceding quarter (1Q2024), with group after-tax profit rising to RM27.4 million (1Q2024: RM25.2 million) and revenue increasing to RM168.7 million (RM164.6 million).
For the six-month period in 2024, Harbour-Link posted a sharply higher group net profit of RM53.59 million (6M2023: RM33.49 million), while revenue surged to RM529.4 million (RM442.7 million).
The shipping and marine segment recorded an after-tax profit of RM52.6 million (RM27.9 million), an increase of RM24.7 million (+88 per cent), as turnover climbed to RM333.3 million (RM287.9 million), up by RM45.4 million (+16 per cent).
Commenting on its outlook, Harbour-Link remains optimistic about the performance of its shipping and marine segment, integrated logistics segment, and machinery trading segment. Demand for the group’s branded machinery in earth-moving and lifting equipment remains strong.
Regarding the engineering and construction segment, the company noted that existing projects continue to perform well.
“We are exploring opportunities to secure new projects and looking forward to diversifying into other related engineering and maintenance work,” it added.
