Nam Cheong has more than doubled its net profit for FY2023 to RM147.4 million ($41.69 million), compared to FY2022’s RM67.9 million.
This follows 30% higher revenue y-o-y of RM475.3 million from its vessel chartering business, which was driven by improved daily charter rates.
Correspondingly, gross profit grew by 67% yoy to RM168.6 million, with gross profit margin increasing by 8 percentage points to 35.5%.
Other income rose 33% y-o-y to RM85.3 million for FY2023, mainly attributable to the reversal of inventories written down and the increase in net foreign exchange gain of RM31.2 million and RM6.3 million respectively.
This impact was partially offset by the absence of a gain on waiver of debts by trade and financial creditors.
Finance costs grew modestly by 8% y-o-y to RM27.9 million due to the increased vessel financing related expenses.
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Nam Cheong CEO Leong Seng Keat says 2023 marks another year of growth for the group, reflecting notable milestones reached in its restructuring journey.
“We are delighted to see the revenue crossing the RM400 million mark for the first time since the prolonged business downturn since 2015. The consistent improvement in our business fundamentals underpins the group’s momentum towards its gradual recovery.
“The group has obtained the approval for the new NCL scheme from the High Court of Malaya towards the end of 2023 and thereafter received shareholders’ approval for the proposed corporate restructuring exercise at the special general meeting convened today. The above two milestones are crucial for the conclusion of the restructuring process and the resumption of shares trading,” he adds.
Shares in Nam Cheong last traded at 0.4 cents before suspension in April 2020.
