• RM561.7 million order book as at 30 June 2022 comprises 74.1% from Peninsular and 25.9% from East Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 24 August 2022 – Earthworks and civil engineering services specialist Advancecon Holdings Berhad (Advancecon, the Group, 前进控股) announced that its second quarter ended 30 June 2022 (2Q22) net profit from the construction and support services segment returned to black at RM5.7 million from loss of RM2.3 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.

The segment’s profitability was attributed to the improved revenue of 6.0% to RM63.5 million in 2Q22 from RM60.0 million in the previous quarter on higher billings from ongoing earthworks projects such as East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), West Coast Expressway (WCE) and Pan Borneo Highway (PBH) Sarawak, as well as a one off non-operating gain on disposal of old machineries amounting to RM5.6 million.

After consolidation of the quarry segment, total net profit was recorded at RM0.5 million in 2Q22 versus loss of RM2.5 million in the previous year. 2Q22 revenue rose 65.0% to RM99.2 million from RM60.1 million in the previous quarter, with revenue contribution of RM35.5 million from the quarry segment, and the balance RM0.2 million from the green energy and investment properties segment.

The Group’s order book as at 30 June 2022 stands at RM561.7 million, with 74.1% from Peninsular and 25.9% from East Malaysia, which includes new wins secured in the first quarter of 2022 such as the Bandar Bukit Raja Development (Phase 2) project, and the Group’s first earthworks project from the oil and gas sector for the Bintulu Additional Gas Sales Facilities 2 of Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. in Sarawak awarded by Petrofac.

For the first half financial ended 30 June 2022 (1H22), the Group recorded net loss of RM1.5 million in comparison to net loss of RM1.4 million in previous corresponding period, due to higher loss from the quarry segment affected by softer market demand, increased production and finance cost, as well as the new minimum wage implementation.

The Group’s revenue for 1H22 was 63.1% higher at RM204.2 million from RM125.2 million in the previous period, with revenue contribution of RM74.7 million from consolidation of the quarry segment, and the balance RM0.5 million from the green energy and investment properties segment.

On the Group’s quarry operations segment, Dato’ Phum said: “We are making efforts to restructure Spring Energy as it is also not spared from the impacts of higher material prices. We hope to see some improvements as the construction sector gradually recovers, while we continue to implement measures to increase earnings through cross-selling of products and services with new and existing customers.”