KUALA LUMPUR (May 22): Lafarge Malaysia Bhd suffered a net loss of RM48.93 million or 5.8 sen per share for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 (1QFY17), versus a net profit of RM20.65 million or 2.4 sen per share a year ago, its first loss making quarter since 2QFY05.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Lafarge said its financial performance was dragged by weaker cement business, no thanks to weak demand and worsening pricing pressure.
"The profitability was further exacerbated by the higher operating costs attributed mainly to higher fuel and electricity cost and one-off separation cost incurred in current quarter," it said.
Quarterly revenue also declined by 16.11% to RM561.85 million in 1QFY17 from RM669.78 million in 1QFY16.
Lafarge said its outlook is expected to remain challenging in view of the ongoing pricing pressure and competitive environment.
"The group will focus on cost leadership with emphasis on optimising the group's assets, operations and logistics and continue its efforts on product differentiation and developing solutions and offers to meet customers' needs," it said.
Lafarge's share price gained by five sen or 0.88% to close at RM5.75 today, giving it a market capitalisation of RM4.86 billion.
Last week alone, the group saw its share price fell by 11.35% to close at RM5.70 on Friday, from RM6.43 on Monday. Year to date, the counter has lost 20.14% from RM7.20 on Jan 4 this year.