KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 26): Carbon-based products maker PMB Technology Bhd's fourth quarter net profit surged to RM31.67 million, from RM9.15 million a year earlier, thanks to a one-off gain of RM25.8 million from the disposal of a parcel of land.

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (4QFY2023) was, however, down 37% to RM194.13 million from RM308.15 million in 4QFY2022.

The sale of the land located in Klang for RM36.59 million was announced by the group in October last year. The land has a 99-year leasehold tenure that is set to expire in 2097.

Setting aside the one-off gain, PMB witnessed a decline in profit for both its manufacturing and trading segment, and the construction and fabrication segment, the group said in a bourse filing on Monday.

The manufacturing and trading segment's profit declined 66% to RM6 million from RM17.7 million in 4QFY2022, due to lower sales volume and higher operating costs.

The construction and fabrication segment, meanwhile saw its profit decline 45.3% to RM2.9 million from RM5.3 million due to slower progress of its ongoing projects.

PMB noted that the group had mixed results in the silicon metal market during the quarter.

While the Asian indices showed little changes over the preceding quarter, the prices on Western market indices, especially in the European Union, rallied towards the end of the quarter amid supply constraints due to an unforeseen reduction in domestic output and the Red Sea crisis, it said.

Nevertheless, the group maintained its optimism for its long-term prospects due to the global push towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.

“Continuous improvement in the key aspects of our business strengthens the company’s position, enabling it to thrive and fully capitalise when market conditions eventually improve,” OMB said in its filing.

For the full year, the group recorded a net profit of RM45.16 million, down 59.1% from RM110.36 million in FY2022. Full-year revenue fell 16% to RM989.59 million, from RM1.18 billion.

PMB has not recommended any dividend since FY2022.

PMB shares closed up by three sen or 1.12% at RM2.70, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM4.39 billion.