KUALA LUMPUR (April 1): Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd (AZRB) said it has been awarded a contract worth RM315.90 million by the Public Works Department for upgrading and renovation works on Istana Abu Bakar in Pekan, Pahang.

In a bourse filing on Monday, the company said its wholly-owned subsidiary Ahmad Zaki Sdn Bhd (AZSB) received the letter of acceptance and that the contract would be valid for 30 months, starting from April 1, 2024.

The contract is expected to contribute positively to the group’s future earnings, it added.

“None of the directors and substantial shareholders of AZRB or any persons connected with them has any interest, direct or indirect, in the contract,” it stated.

The construction company revealed in its quarterly result release that its orderbook stood at RM803 million as at end-2023, which will be able to sustain the group for the coming year.

It is noteworthy that AZSB has received up to five winding-up petitions over its failure to settle outstanding sums since the start of the year. The petitioners include Scatech Sdn Bhd, Euromatec Sdn Bhd, Formula Mutakhir Sdn Bhd, Sukiada Engineering Sdn Bhd and Mandarin Opto-Medic Sdn Bhd.

According to AZRB's bourse filings, the accumulated outstanding sums of these five petitions number over RM871,000. However, AZRB said it does not expect to incur losses arising from the petitions as AZSB is not a major subsidiary of the group.

Bloomberg data showed that AZRB’s largest shareholder is Zaki Holdings Sdn Bhd, with a 48.7% stake.

For the second financial quarter ended Dec 31, 2023 (2QFY2024), AZRB posted a net profit of RM99.20 million, compared to a net loss of RM42.34 million a year earlier. The company’s net profit was mainly due to a disposal gain of RM189 million, from a stake sale in its plantation unit PT Ichtiar Gusti Pudi Tbk.

During the same period, quarterly revenue dipped 14.7% year-on-year to RM71.13 million from RM83.38 million a year ago, due to lower revenue in its engineering and construction division.

For the six-month period ended Dec 31, 2023, (6MFY2024), the company’s cumulative net profit came in at RM79.21 million, against a net loss of RM70.26 million in 6MFY2023.

Shares of AZRB’s gained 0.5 sen to close at 22 sen on Monday, valuing the group at RM144.3 million.