KUALA LUMPUR: Leon Fuat Bhd (LFB) posted a 61.8 per cent growth in net profit to RM29.09 million for the fourth quarter (Q4) ended 31 December 2021 (FY21) from

RM17.98 million posted in the same quarter last year.

Revenue increased by 27.8 per cent to RM254.21 million for Q4 compared to RM198.96 million same quarter last year.

On a segmental basis, revenue from trading of steel products registered a 26.5 per cent increase to RM81.95 million while revenue from the processing of steel products recorded a 28.4 per cent rise to RM172.18 million.

The trading segment's contribution to revenue stood at 32.2 per cent in Q4 FY21 compared with 32.6 per cent in the same quarter of FY20 while the processing segment's contribution stood at 67.7 per cent from 67.4 per cent in Q4 FY20.

For FY21, net profit grew 377.6 per cent to RM135.98 million compared with RM28.47 million in FY20.

Revenue for FY21 gained 50.4 per cent to RM886.58 million compared with RM589.58 million registered in FY20.

Executive director Calvin Ooi Shang How said the positive earnings was supported by higher revenue and better gross profit margin from the rise in average selling prices in both the trading and processing of steel products.

He said for the financial year as a whole, revenue was also supported by higher overall average selling prices that also resulted in a better overall gross profit margin.

"We are maintaining our cautious outlook for 2022 on downside risks arising from decelerating economic growth amid continued Covid-19 flareups across the world, diminishing policy support and lingering supply bottlenecks.

"While the Malaysian economy is expected to grow by 5.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent this year on continued external demand and private sector expenditure, we note concerns over new virus variants, inflation and financial stress that could weigh on economic recovery too.

"We will continue to monitor the movement of steel prices as we anticipate commodity price volatility due to global factors.

"Our monitoring will also continue for foreign currencies while negotiating forward contracts where necessary and having prudent inventory management," he said.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd