KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 25): Hong Leong Industries Bhd (HLI) was among the top gainers in morning trade on Friday (Nov 25) after the group announced a better profit for the first financial quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (1QFY2023), as well as dividend.

At noon break, the stock was up 18 sen to RM9.40. It had earlier jumped 24 sen to a high of RM9.46.

It is currently trading at a historical price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98 times, offering a dividend yield of 5.54%. 

On Thursday, HLI announced that its 1QFY2023 net profit increased 124-fold to RM81.88 million, compared to RM662,000 in the same quarter last year. Quarterly revenue also increased 219% to RM884.45 million from RM277 million in 1QFY2022.

The group said in a Bursa Malaysia filing that the lower earnings in 1QFY2022 were impacted by lower sales across all product segments and the two-month curtailment of production due to the Movement Control Order.

Notwithstanding, HLI has also declared an interim single-tier dividend of 20 sen per share to be paid on Dec 22.

HLI is a member of the Hong Leong Group, a conglomerate with businesses in key sectors such as financial services, manufacturing and distribution, property development and investment, hospitality and leisure, consumer goods, healthcare and principal investments.

While the supply chain disruption issue has progressively improved, the rising costs of materials and energy prices remain major challenges, affecting the group’s profit margin, said HLI. 

To overcome these challenges, it said it will continue to improve plant productivity, reduce costs and develop new products. 

“The board expects the group’s performance for the financial year ending June 30, 2023 to be satisfactory,” it added.