KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan-led government’s push for greater adoption of locally-made products under the ‘Buy Malaysian Product Campaign’ has opened up opportunities for Success Transformer Corp Bhd to participate in more local public projects, said the group’s executive director Tan Wei Neng.

“The group, which is eyeing to bid for “a few hundred million (ringgit) worth of jobs” so far this year, hopes to secure some of them in its current financial year ending June 30, 2019 (FY19),” he told reporters after the company’s annual general meeting here yesterday.

Also present was executive director Chanelle Tan.

The group is engaged in the design, manufacturing and distribution of electrical apparatus, industrial lighting and process equipment.

“We started out doing dealer business. Before the new government, we didn’t have the chance to participate in most of the projects. But after the new government, we have a chance,” said Chanelle.

Chanelle was referring to the group’s street lanterns and light-emitting diode industrial lighting products under house brands NIKKON and Intelligent Light Control System, which will be delivered in stages to the government, should it secure the projects.

“We are promoting these products to our local government, and overseas governments as well, and the response has been very good. We are seeing a very positive opportunity for our company as a manufacturer in Malaysia,” she said.

She said said the group is also in the midst of tendering for both private and public jobs in Europe worth some US$6 million (RM25.02 million), while bumping up sales in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, which will help boost overseas sales contribution to 70%, from the current 55%, in three years.

On the overall performance this year, Wei Neng said the group is positive of returning to its previous level of earnings, given that its 65%-owned process equipment subsidiary Seremban Engineering Bhd (SEB) has been performing well.

In FY18, the Main Market-listed SEB contributed losses of RM2.32 million to the group, due to “unexpected additional cost incurred for certain projects”, according to SEB’s annual report.

That was among the factors that dragged Success Transformer’s FY18 net profit down 85% to RM7 million from RM46 million in FY17.

Its full-year revenue retreated 17% to RM326 million from RM395 million.

“I think it (SEB) is able to break even and move into a marginal profit... from the measures taken such as streamlining overhead (costs) and widening its product and customer base.

“It will help a lot in terms of the overall group results,” he said of the holding company.

Success Transformer’s shares finished two sen higher at 57 sen in thin trade yesterday, giving it a market capitalisation of RM134.05 million.

The stock, which has seen its value more than halved from its close of RM1.18 on Dec 29, 2017, touched its lowest level of 54.5 sen in almost five years last Wednesday.