KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 30): Wah Seong Corp Bhd's net profit fell 8.6% to RM19.24 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19) from RM21.04 million a year ago, on lower contribution from the oil and gas (O&G) segment. 

This resulted in a lower earnings per share of 2.5 sen for 2QFY19 against 2.72 sen for 2QFY18. 

Quarterly revenue was relatively flat at RM757.42 million compared with RM760.01 million in 2QFY18. 

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, Wah Seong said its O&G segment recorded a lower pre-tax profit of RM27.2 million from RM31.8 million a year ago.

"This segment has completed work at one of the two sites used for a major project that has been on-going since late 2016. This mainly contributed to the decreases noted in the segment for the current periods under review," it said. 

The weak quarterly earnings dragged down the group's net profit for the cumulative six months (1HFY19) by 21.6% to RM39.44 million from RM50.29 million a year ago, while revenue declined 7.2% to RM1.441 billion from RM1.553 billion in 1HFY18. 

Wah Seong said the outlook for the group is expected to improve towards the end of the year. 

The group's current order book stands at RM938.2 million, of which RM558.1 million is from the O&G segment, RM326.9 million from the renewable energy segment, and RM53.2 million comes from the industrial trading and services sector. 

"The group continues to respond to increases in enquiries, tender preparatory activities as well as firm bids for a number of prospective projects from a number of O&G majors. These are expected to be converted into firm bids and awards in the next 6 to 18 months," said Wah Seong. 

Its shares closed down 0.5 sen or 0.81% at 61 sen today, bringing a market capitalisation of RM469.98 million.