PETALING JAYA: Bermaz Auto Bhd expects its performance to be challenging for the financial year ending April 30, 2025.
The Mazda vehicle distributor said the automotive sector will register growth this year but at a slower pace due to inflationary pressures, uncertainties in geopolitical conflicts and an overall weaker global expansion that will impact the local economy.
It added that the influx of vehicles from China has also impacted the sales of vehicles.
“The launching of new and facelift models of the group’s existing and new vehicle marques are still very much dependent on market sentiments and economic conditions,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.
For its fourth quarter ended April 30, 2024, Bermaz recorded a lower revenue of RM937.5mil compared with RM1.072bil achieved in the same quarter a year ago.
The group said the decrease was due to lower sales from its Mazda and Kia marques’ domestic operations.
Its net profit was also lower at RM90.22mil compared with RM100.62mil for the same quarter a year ago.
However, it said the decrease in both revenue and profit were partly offset by a improved profit contribution from its associate company, Kia Malaysia Sdn Bhd, after its registered higher export volume.
Meanwhile, for its financial year ended April 30, 2024, Bermaz recorded a higher revenue of RM3.93bil compared with RM3.54bil in the preceding financial year.
Its net profit came in at RM351mil for the year compared with RM305.8mil previously.
It said the increase was mainly due to improved sales volume from its Mazda marque’s domestic operations, especially from its Mazda CX-30 completely-knocked-down model, which had continued to register high sales volume since its launch in March last year.
Bermaz board has declared a fourth interim dividend of 4.75 sen per share and a special dividend of 7.00 sen single-tier dividend per share, which will be payable on Aug 2, 2024.