The lower earnings were mainly due to a rise in construction costs, brought on by higher building materials and labour expenses, the group said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

Despite the net profit decline, the group’s revenue jumped 78.1% y-o-y to RM 131.09 million from RM 73.62 million previously, lifted by higher contributions from both the property development and property investment segments.

As for the whole financial year, the group recorded a 17.25% drop in net profit and 31.4% increase in revenue compared to FY2022.

Apart from higher building material and labour costs, the group’s profit margin was also impacted by a RM7 million waiver fee incurred for the purpose of enabling the disposal of Bumiputera lots in Plaza Kelana Jaya and Glomac Centro to non-Bumiputera buyers.

The group declared a final dividend of 1.25 sen per ordinary share for FY2023, compared to 1.50 sen in the last financial year.

However, the entitlement and payment date will be announced at a later date, pending approval from shareholders during the upcoming 39th annual general meeting, according to the filing.

Glomac expects the upcoming year to be challenging, with significant risks of inflation, labour shortage, rising interest rates and material costs.

However, AmInvestment Bank holds a favourable outlook on the group’s prospects.

“We believe Glomac is able to register commendable sales for the launches of new phases in Lakeside Residences and Saujana KLIA, driven by overwhelming demand for existing projects which have a take-up rate of >90%,” said AmInvest analyst Khoo Zing Sheng.

“Meanwhile, we are positive on the sales prospect for Loop City Puchong which is adjacent to the group’s existing Lakeside Residences project, which has already fully sold its residential units,” he added.

At market close today, Glomac’s share price remained at 32 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM252.03 million.