Bursa Annual Report

Period : 2006-2021

Date : 4th Dec 2021

Researcher : Esther Low

Q-o-Q revenue for Bursa listed logistics companies (2019-2021)

Bursa listed logistics companies started strong on the first quarter of 2021 with a total revenue of MYR 7.2 billion but experienced a slight dip in Q2 of 2021 to RM 7 billion (down 3.25%). Compared to the same reporting period in 2020 the Bursa listed logistics companies experienced a 17.2% increase in revenue from RM 5.9 billion to RM 7 billion in Q2 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Companies in both the 3PL and e-commerce industry had a good start in Q1 of 2021 where they reported marginally higher revenue as compared to the 2nd quarter of 2021. For companies in the 3PL category such as Tasco and CJ Century, revenue remain relatively stable with only a minor loss in the range of 1%-3%.

For companies in the e-commerce category, GD Express reported a higher revenue of RM 1 million more in the 2nd quarter of 2021 as compared to RM 105 million in Q1 2021. Pos Malaysia achieved a revenue of RM 595 million but declined to RM 533 million in Q2.

For the maritime category, most of the companies enjoyed a high revenue this year especially those in the shipping and port management businesses. MISC Bhd reported a revenue of RM 2.5 billion in Q1 and RM 2.3 billion in Q2. Meanwhile MMC Bhd recorded a relatively stable revenue of RM 1.14 billion revenue on the account of higher volumes handled across all ports especially in the Pelabuhan Tanjung Pelepas and Northport (Malaysia). MMC Corp Bhd benefitted from the higher demand of cargo storage due to the global supply chain disruption.

Malaysia Airports Holdings is still reporting a lower than usual revenue as compared to its revenue pre-pandemic. For the first two quarters of 2021 the group reported a revenue of RM 336 million and RM 323 million respectively. In contrast to its revenue of RM 1.2 billion in Q1 2019, MAHB is still burdened by the travel restrictions however the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) may offer some hope to MAHB’s recovery soon.

Q-o-Q PBT for Bursa listed logistics companies (2019-2021)

PBT of the Bursa listed logistics companies supports the recovery of these companies as we adapt to the new normal. In Q1 of 2020 the total PBT across the board was a loss of RM 871 million. The losses mostly came from maritime, air logistics and e-commerce category. However in Q1 and Q2 2021, PBT is now in the positive at RM 665 million and RM 808 million respectively, close to PBT levels pre-pandemic.

Drilling down on the PBT for Q1 -Q2 for both 2020 and 2021, the biggest losses stemmed from MISC, MAHB and Pos Malaysia. For MISC, despite the high revenue in in the Q1 2020 reporting period (RM 2.51 billion versus RM 2.27 billion in Q1 2019) the group posted a RM 1.1 billion loss. According to the company the PBT loss of RM 1.1 billion was due to the group’s arbitration against Sabah Shell Petroleum Co Ltd where the group had provided litigation claims of RM 1.05 billion and RM 935.2 million write-off of trade receivables and loss. The group then return to be profitable for the rest of the year up till Q2 2021. Pos Malaysia sees its loss in PBT widening due to the extremely competitive e-commerce industry, lower performance in the postal segment and turnaround efforts.

For MAHB the decrease of both international and domestic passengers was the reason behind MAHB’s growing losses. The group now hopes to double its air cargo volumes to 1.3 million tonnes by 2030 after entering a 70:30 partnership with Alibaba Group’s logistics arm, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network in view of the growing e-commerce sales.

Overall, the Bursa listed logistics companies are recovering on the back of higher revenues and higher PBTs after the poor performance in 2020 due to the pandemic and travel restrictions. However, the Omicron variant – that is now spreading rapidly - as well as the efficacy of current vaccines against it may pose future risks of further erosion in revenue and PBT to companies within the air transport services and 3PL companies who rely strongly on cross-border transportation/logistics services as their biggest source of revenue. The lockdowns however could play favorably to propel the growth of e-commerce companies while maritime companies who are operating ports or shipping containers may continue to enjoy higher volumes and high freight rates due to slower turnover rates.