KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 18): Hup Seng Industries Bhd’s announcement of a 22.16% rise in its fourth quarter profit jolted interest in its counter in the afternoon session, rising by as much as six sen or 4.8% to RM1.32 at just a minute, after Bursa Malaysia opened again for trading.
However, the biscuits and coffee producer’s shares pared gains to RM1.31 at 2:54 pm. The trading volume was 682,300.
During the noon break, Hup Seng reported its net profit rose 22.16% to RM15.39 million or 1.92 sen a share for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 (4QFY15), from RM12.6 million or 1.57 sen a share a year ago, mainly due to improved sales margin brought about by lower input costs, weaker ringgit and improved efficiency in production.
The group said its revenue for 4QFY15 also increased by 8.72% to RM80.07 million versus RM73.65 million in the previous year, as benign growth in demand for biscuits in local and export market contributed to the increase in sales volume.
For FY15, the group's net profit surged 43.47% to RM54.73 million or 6.84 sen a share, from RM38.15 million or 4.77 sen a share in FY14; while revenue also went up 9.4% at RM286.86 million, compared to RM262.22 million last year.
Going forward, Hup Seng said it would continue to identify business or investment opportunities for expansion to enhance shareholders' value, amid tougher market conditions in 2016.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/hup-sengs-4q-profit-jump-rouses-trading-interest
