KUALA LUMPUR: Sern Kou Resources Bhd's net profit decreased 39.5 per cent to RM3.61 million in the second quarter (Q2) ended December 31, 2021, from RM5.97 million recorded in the same quarter a year ago.

In a statement today, the company said the drop in performance was primarily due to a softer contribution from its furniture manufacturing business and processing and trading of wood segment.

"It is noteworthy to mention that the Q2 financial year 2022 (FY22) was a recovery period, that is the immediate quarter following the full Movement Control Order (MCO) lockdown in Q1 FY22 where most business activities came to a halt," it said.

Revenue in the same quarter eased 4.9 per cent to RM80.72 million from RM84.88 million.

For the six months, Sern Kou's net profit decreased 50.3 per cent to RM4.99 million from RM10.06 million, while revenue eased 4.1 per cent to RM158.68 million from RM165.54 million.

Managing director Chua Peng Sian said the company's financial performance had rebounded healthily from the immediate preceding quarter following the resumption of its furniture manufacturing business in September 2021.

On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, Sern Kou's Q2 FY22 revenue increased 3.5 per cent to RM80.7 million from RM78.0 million in the immediate preceding quarter.

More notably, net profit for the current quarter under review soared 160.9 per cent QoQ to RM3.6 million from RM1.4 million in Q1 FY22.

"The utilisation rate has been picking up strongly, which is expected to sustain in the coming quarters.

"With this, we anticipate our furniture manufacturing division to return to the black in FY22," he said.

Meanwhile, Chua said all the production lines for the company's sawmill operation are running at full capacity, with orders continuing to be robust.

"Given the strong orders in the pipeline, we are looking to expand our production capacity further to capture the growing demand.

"The company targets to add new sawmilling machines and equipment to boost our capacity by another 50 per cent.

"Notwithstanding the increasingly busier tempo, we continue to take extra precautionary measures to protect the health and wellbeing of our employees and minimise any operational disruptions," he added.

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