YTL Corp quarterly profit increases 57%

PETALING JAYA: YTL Corp Bhd reported a 57% increase in its profit after tax to RM1bil for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 of financial year 2025 (2Q25), compared with RM650mil in the preceding quarter ended September 2024 (1Q25).

In a statement, the group said it registered a 4% increase in revenue to RM8.06bil in 2Q25, compared to RM7.77bil in 1Q25.

YTL group executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping said the increase in revenue was mainly due to its cement, property and hotel segments.

Meanwhile, the higher profit was driven primarily by consolidation of results of NSL Ltd under the cement segment, unrealised foreign-exchange gains and improved performance of its hotel segment.

For the six-month period ended Dec 31, 2024, the group’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation remained steady at RM4.7bil, compared to RM4.8bil for the previous corresponding six months ended Dec 31, 2023.

Meanwhile, YTL Power International Bhd recorded a revenue of RM5.68bil in 2Q25 compared to RM5.68bil in 1Q25, while profit after tax rose 51% to RM773.1mil during the quarter under review over RM510.6mil in 1Q25.

Yeoh, who is executive chairman of YTL Power, said: “For the second quarter under review, we have continued to see a good performance, with higher profit driven mainly by unrealised foreign-exchange gains.”

For the cumulative half-year period, Yeoh said YTL Power continued to make sound progress in projects under development, including the YTL Green Data Center Park in Kulai, Johor.

“Meanwhile, in ongoing operations, Singapore’s power generation market has normalised following the exceptional performance seen last year and remains stable, whilst our water and sewerage businesses in the United Kingdom and Malaysia and telecommunications segment saw better performance for the period under review.”

Separately, the group said Malayan Cement Bhd’s revenue stood at RM1.15bil in 2Q25 compared to RM1.17bil in 1Q25.

Meanwhile, profit after tax rose 32% to RM184.9mil in 2Q25 over RM139.6mil in 1Q25. The board of directors of Malayan Cement declared an interim dividend of five sen per ordinary share in respect of the financial year ending June 30, 2025, the book closure and payment dates for which are March 6 and 27, respectively.

Yeoh, who is the executive chairman of Malayan Cement, said: “Whilst revenue for the current quarter declined marginally due mainly to lower domestic cement sales, higher profit resulted primarily from a gain on the compulsory acquisition of land, as well as lower borrowing costs.”

Meanwhile, YTL Hospitality Real Estate Investment Trust’s (YTL Hospitality-REIT) revenue increased 11% to RM147.5mil in 2Q25 compared to RM132.7mil in 1Q25.

Net property income (NPI) grew 15% to RM79.5mil in 2Q25 compared to RM68.9mil in 1Q25. Income available for distribution stood at RM25.8mil during the quarter under review, compared to RM26.5mil in 1Q25.

Yeoh, who is executive chairman of Pintar Projek Sdn Bhd, which is the manager of YTL Hospitality-REIT, said: “The hotel segment, comprising the Australia portfolio, registered an increase in revenue and NPI mainly driven by corporate groups, conferences and large-scale and major events including concerts, festivals and sporting activities, which contributed to higher average daily room and occupancy rates.”

Yeoh said revenue and NPI in the property rental segment, consisting of the Malaysian and Japanese properties, approximated that of the previous quarter.

The board of directors of Pintar Projek declared an interim distribution of 2.91 sen per unit for the six months from July 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024, the book closure and payment dates for which are March 6 and 27, respectively.

“The total income distribution amounts to RM49.6mil, representing approximately 95% of the total distributable income for the financial period ended Dec 31, 2024,” it said.