KUALA LUMPUR: PCCS Group Bhd has staged a turnaround for its second quarter (Q2) ended September 30, 2021, with a net profit of RM1.8 million from a net loss of RM2.35 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

The higher revenue and profit are mainly due to the increase of turnover in the apparels segment, where its orderbook is back to above pre-pandemic levels.

The turnaround gives the company basic earnings per share of 0.85 sen.

The company also has a turnaround for the six months, with a net profit of RM3.78 million from a previous loss of RM732,000.

For the six months, revenue increased 14.74 per cent to RM232.46 million from RM202.6 million.

Cash position-wise, the company continues to be strong with RM42.71 million for the six months.

"The company's turnaround is mainly due to an increase of orders in our apparel segment in China.

"We are benefitting from the relatively early economic recovery in China," said PCCS group managing director David Chan Wee Kiang in a statement today.

While PCCS' is predominantly an apparel maker, it has been reinventing itself to become a hire purchase and medical devices player.

On April 19 this year, PCCS invested RM4 million for an 80 per cent stake to partner up with auto veteran Justin See Kok Wah to form Southern Auto Capital Sdn Bhd.

This joint venture aims to establish and operate used vehicle financing and insurance business in Melaka and Johor.

As of Sep, PCCS has kickstarted its hire purchase business with a RM5 million loan book and is expecting this division to start contributing in the current financial year ending March 31, 2022.

"Our hire purchase loan book size is expected to increase over time. There is indeed pent-up demand in the used vehicle market.

"Throughout Malaysia, there is a bigger inventory of used vehicles online. So we are speeding up digital efforts as we can see the demand is there," said Chan.

As for its medical division, PCCS, earlier this year, inked an exclusive shareholder agreement with Shanghai Shenqi Medical Co Ltd to market its cardiology related products, namely the drug-coated balloon (DCB) within the Asia Pacific, excluding China and Japan.

Chan said the company is currently applying for medical device registration with the authorities in Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Chan is optimistic that he will complete the registration process in at least one of those countries by March 31, 2022.

"With the company's solid financial position, the board is confident that the group can smoothly pass through the uncertain economic environment.

"We continue to be vigilant but at the same time are on the lookout to seize opportunities from market instabilities and seek breakthroughs for our long-term advantages," said Chan.