PETALING JAYA: Timber company Jaya Tiasa Holdings Bhd fell into the red in the fourth quarter ended April 30, the group’s first quarterly loss in four years, on declining prices and lower exports. The group made a net loss of RM62,000 against a net profit of RM11.14mil a year ago. Turnover dropped to RM186.7mil from RM227mil previously. Jaya Tiasa said the bulk of the revenue was derived from the combined turnover of logs, plywood and sawn timber. “A general decline in market prices for those products in combination with the volume squeeze of plywood as well as sawn timber sales had reduced drastically the group’s pre-tax profit,’’ the company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday. For the full year (FY09), net profit shrank 74% to RM13.14mil from RM51.9mil in FY08, while revenue improved slightly to RM800mil from RM794mil. The lower profit was attributed to “rising costs of fuel consumption and machinery part replacement.’’ “Although the global economy has shown some signs of consolidation from the recent downturn, the main challenges faced by the timber industry are expected to continue in the forthcoming months,’’ Jaya Tiasa said. To maximise shareholders’ return, the group “will continue to adapt flexibly to changes in business environment and to capitalise on new opportunities for wider access to local as well as overseas markets.” To this end, Jaya Tiasa’s wood division will focus on measures to improve recovery rate and produce higher value-added products for the niche markets. It said the oil palm sector was expected to contribute more profit to the group as a result of higher yield of fresh fruit bunches with more palms reaching maturity and increase in the acreage for harvest.
The Star Business
25-June-09
