Adding to its widening losses was its HR Owen luxury car retail business in the UK which suffered mounting losses due to lower revenue and higher operating expenses on inflationary pressures.

Quarterly revenue fell 4.4% to RM2.23 billion from RM2.34 billion, according to its bourse filing.

For the six-month period ending Dec 31, 2023, BCorp posted a net loss of RM100.55 million from a loss of RM41.22 million the corresponding period in FY2022 while revenue rose to RM4.8 billion from RM4.58 billion.

BCorp, founded by tycoon Vincent Tan, did not declare a dividend for the quarter.

It said the lower quarterly revenue within the retail segment primarily stemmed from the boycott of Starbucks’ cafes arising from the Middle East conflict. Its unit Berjaya Food Bhd holds the Malaysia franchise for the American coffee chain.

The group said the higher loss for the non-food retail business was mainly attributed to HR Owen’s higher pre-tax loss.

“HR Owen’s results were negatively impacted by higher finance costs arising from interest rate hike and higher stocking loans in the quarter under review,” the group said.

Meanwhile, its property segment recorded lower pre-tax profit due to lower sale of overseas residential units.

Its services business also saw a drop in profit due to lower sales achieved by its number forecast operator STM Lottery Sdn Bhd, coupled with higher prize payouts and higher expenses.

However, its hospitality business saw improved earnings due to higher overall room rates and contribution from its new Iceland Parliament Hotel that commenced operations in December 2022.

Moving forward, BCorp expects the performance of its businesses to improve on the back of moderate consumer spending, rebound in tourism activities and better-than-expected labour conditions.

Its shares fell half-a-sen or 1.7% to 28.5 sen at the mid-day break, valuing the group at RM1.7 billion.