Press Metal reports record annual net profit of RM1.03 billion for FY21; Earnings in Q4 double to RM285.82 million

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, a Malaysia-based extrusion producing company, announced last week its record annual net profit of RM1.03 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2021, following its fourth quarter’s earnings nearly doubled to RM285.82 million from RM145.25 million.

The surge in Q4 earnings could be attributed to the increased revenue of 63.9 per cent to RM3.37 billion from RM2.05 billion, driven by higher average aluminium prices and increased output from Phase 3 of Samalaju Smelter.

Press Metal’s annual net profit for FY2021 increased by 124 per cent Y-o-Y from RM459.85 million, while revenue grew 47 per cent to RM10.99 billion from 7.48 billion in FY2020.

The Group declared a fourth interim dividend of 1 sen per share for FY2021, payable on March 31, 2022, showed its filing with Bursa Malaysia, as opposed to 1.25 sen per share a year before. That brought its FY2021 payout to 3.75 sen so far compared to 4.25 sen for FY2020.

Press Metal chief executive officer Tan Shri Paul Koon reported that the group saw higher aluminium prices in the fourth quarter of FY2021 owing to supply constraints and decreased inventories. He added energy crises also forced smelters to suspend or curtail production across Europe.

Meanwhile, Press Metal expects the demand for low carbon aluminium to increase in modern applications such as automotive and solar energy. CEO Koon said, "Press Metal is in a favourable position as environmental, social and governance (ESG) adoption across industries is tilting demand towards such low carbon aluminium.”

However, he did not miss to mention the challenges faced by the group due to pandemic and ensuing lockdowns. Its operations were under pressure because of extreme logistic costs, increased material prices and higher human capital expenses.

“Supply chain disruptions have inevitably inflated direct and indirect operational expenditures on numerous fronts. To safeguard the welfare of our workers, we also undertook additional expenses to ensure operational health and safety at our plants. It is anticipated that these challenges will persist in the near term,” Koon said.

Nonetheless, with the full commissioning of Phase 3 Samalaju smelter in 4QFY21, Press Metal Group’s production moved up in 2022, reported Koon.

“We are working towards further enhancing value added capabilities and our extrusion product portfolio with the aim of increasing the group’s presence in consumer product related sectors.

"Sustainability is of utmost importance within Press Metal, and we want to entrench this culture into our people in becoming an increasingly ESG-compliant company. We are currently evaluating several initiatives that will steer us towards our net zero emission ambition and reducing our climate footprint across the value chain,” he added.