KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) posted a net profit of RM64.85 million for the year ended Dec 31 2022 (FY22) from RM15.83 million a year ago.

Group revenue surged to RM3.2 billion from RM1.4 billion in FY21.

MRCB said the strong recovery was mainly due to more normalised operations after two years of Covid-19 related disruptions.

This resulted in increased revenue and profit recognition from construction progress and a recovery in property sales.

The property development and investment division recorded an 84 per cent increase in revenue to RM914.6 million and a 15 per cent increase in operating profit to RM176.7 million in 2022.

This was due to much better operating conditions compared to 2021, which was severely impacted by construction site closures that impeded construction progress and revenue recognition.

There was also a strong recovery in sales of completed unsold inventory as well as units from on-going property development projects under construction as the economy re-opened and began to normalise.

The main contributors were the division's two largest property development projects, Sentral Suites and TRIA 9 Seputeh, which reached construction progress of 89 per cent and 88 per cent respectively.

The division sold RM487.9 million worth of properties in 2022 and had unbilled property sales of RM536.5 million as at Dec 31 last year.

The group's 27.94 per cent-owned Sentral REIT and 41 per cent-owned Sentral REIT Management Sdn Bhd, contributed a combined profit after tax of RM14.9 million.

The engineering, construction and environment division recorded a 147 per cent increase in revenue to RM2.2 billion.

This was largely contributed by the RM11.4 billion LRT3 project, which achieved physical construction progress of 81 per cent and financial progress of 75 per cent as of 2022.

Revenue was also contributed from the SUKE Package CA2 and the PR1MA Brickfields construction projects.

The division recorded an operating profit of RM69.9 million in 2022 against an operating loss of RM40.7 million in 2021.

The division also saw the successful completion of two major infrastructure projects during the year namely the Mass Rapid Transit 2 Package V210 and Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Highway Package CB2 projects.

The division's long-term external client order book was RM26.3 billion as at Dec 31 2022, while the unbilled portion was RM17.4 billion.

The group made solid progress in its strategy to diversify its business into new markets and expand overseas in 2022, and has a healthy pipeline of long-term projects.

These include the six-phase Ipoh Raya integrated industrial park in Perak as well as a development project in Gold Coast, Australia (GDV: AU$391 million), which is targeted for launch in 2023; and New Zealand (GDV: NZ$589 million), which will begin in 2024.

The group had a Malaysian construction tender book of RM30 billion as at December 2022.