KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 21): Pos Malaysia Bhd (KL:POS) recorded a wider net loss of RM55.92 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 (2QFY2024), up 107% from RM27.01 million a year earlier, on lower revenue registered from its postal and logistics segments. The national post and parcel service provider has been loss-making since 3QFY2018.

As a result, loss per share for 2QFY2024 came in at 7.14 sen, compared with 3.45 sen for 2QFY2023.

Revenue for the quarter fell 4.7% to RM443.43 million, from RM465.2 million for 2QFY2023.

No interim dividend was declared for 2QFY2024.

In a separate statement, Pos Malaysia group chief executive officer Charles Brewer attributed the slower-than-expected 2QFY2024 performance to a continued challenging market environment, specifically related to the parcel segment.

Net loss for the first half ended June 30, 2024 (1HFY2024) also widened to RM75.61 million from RM54.67 million a year earlier, as revenue slipped 1.3% to RM935.4 million from RM947.47 million for 1HFY2023.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, Pos Malaysia said it will continue to focus on executing its business transformation, and specifically accelerating implementation of new value creators as well as addressing loss-making business units and/or products.

“We continue to make solid progress in executing our transformation strategy. Pos Malaysia’s operations are resilient, and with our transformation initiatives well under way, we are confident in our ability to deliver improved results for the full year, as we continue to focus on driving growth, enhancing operational efficiency, and creating long-term value for our shareholders,” Brewer said.

The group will double down on the scaling-up of its newer ventures, such as Pos Shop, Pos Fulfill and its international venture redlyexpress, which Brewer said is necessary to de-risk the structural mail decline and a competitive parcel segment.

“We are excited to share that since launching our first Pos Shop convenience store in Jalan Medan Tuanku, Kuala Lumpur in May 2023, as part of Pos Malaysia’s retail transformation strategy. We have now opened 31 stores across Peninsular Malaysia to date, with an aggressive plan to expand to 50 outlets in total by the end of 2024.

“Pos Fulfill, our fully integrated fulfilment operations, continue to ride on growing demand for warehousing and fulfilment solutions, offering both the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sectors cutting-edge technology and a sprawling warehouse space of over 200,000 sq ft in facilities in Shah Alam, Bukit Raja, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching," he added.

Meanwhile, Brewer pointed out that Pos Aviation had registered consistent year-on-year growth fuelled by rising demand for in-flight catering and cargo handling services, and will continue to prioritise driving domestic expansion while capitalising on its recent joint venture with SIA Engineering Co Ltd.

“For the core Pos Malaysia business, we seek to maximise the opportunities that the e-commerce parcel segment continues to offer, bolstered by our market-leading service standards and continuous expansion of innovative products and services,” he said, adding that the group remains cautiously optimistic about delivering improved full-year results for FY2024.

Pos Malaysia shares closed unchanged at 37.5 sen on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM289.78 million. The stock has fallen 25% so far this year.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/723700