KUALA LUMPUR (July 25): Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd (KL:AZRB) said on Thursday it has secured a contract worth RM151.99 million to design and build the Port Dickson Specialist Hospital in Negeri Sembilan.

The construction engineering company said in an exchange filing that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ahmad Zaki Sdn Bhd (AZSB), received the letter of acceptance from the public works department for the proposed work. The contract will commence on August 6 and span over 156 weeks, AZRB noted.

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

Ahmad Zaki did not provide further details in the four-sentence announcement.

The latest contract is Ahmad Zaki's second win from the public works department in 2024. In April, the company secured a contract worth RM315.9 million for upgrading and renovation works on Istana Abu Bakar in Pekan, Pahang.

AZSB has been served six winding-up petitions due to its failure to settle outstanding bills since the start of the year by eight parties, including Scatech Sdn Bhd, Euromatec Sdn Bhd, Sukiada Engineering Sdn Bhd, Mandarin Opto-Medic Sdn Bhd, Muhibbah Engineering Sdn Bhd and Samjung Steel Co Ltd.

The accumulated outstanding sums of the six petitions total over RM1.55 million, according to Ahmad Zaki’s earlier filings. However, Ahmad Zaki stated it does not expect to incur losses from the petitions as AZSB is not a major subsidiary of the group.

For the third financial quarter ended March 31, 2024 (3QFY2024), Ahmad Zaki posted a net profit of RM5.76 million, down 11.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) from RM6.51 million a year ago, mainly dragged by losses recorded by the oil and gas division.

During the same period, quarterly revenue fell 4% y-o-y to RM93.9 million from RM98.1 million, which the group attributed to lower revenue in the engineering and construction division.

For the nine-month period ended March 31, 2024 (9MFY2024), the group’s cumulative net profit came in at RM84.9 million, compared to a net loss of RM63.7 million in 9MFY2023, while revenue rose by 5.5% to RM270.4 million from RM256.3 million.

At the market break on Thursday, AZRB shares were traded flat at 31 sen, giving the group a market capitalization of RM203.9 million. The counter has gained more than 40% since the start of the year.