MyNews expects sustained earnings improvement

Source: The Star

PETALING JAYA: MyNews Holdings Bhd is optimistic that the worst is behind it and anticipates a sustained improvement in performance.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the group said it plans to accelerate the opening of new stores this year, driving anticipated revenue growth.

Presently, the company operates a total of 619 outlets.

This comprises 468 myNEWS stores (including 34 SUPERVALUE outlets), 132 CU outlets and 19 WHSmith outlets.

"The number of new stores will increase at a faster rate in its financial year ending Oct 31, 2024 (FY24).

"Therefore, we expect the sales revenue to grow in parallel with the growing store network and ongoing efforts in increasing the in-store sales," it said.

To note, the retail store chain operator has returned to profitability since the fourth quarter of financial year 2023 (4Q23).

Moreover, MyNews said the capacity of its food processing centre (FPC) is expected to undergo continual expansion, fuelled by the uptick in retail sales.

For the first quarter ended Jan 31, 2024 (1Q24), MyNews recorded a revenue of RM195.52mil, RM11.42mil or 6.2% higher than the previous corresponding quarter.

The revenue increase was mainly contributed by the improvement in overall in-store sales.

It reported a net profit of RM1.27mil compared to a net loss of RM3.21mil in 1Q23.

This translates to an earnings per share of 0.17 sen for the quarter under review.

MyNews said its margin, boosted by the improvement in its sales mix and higher margin of CU business, improved to 36.8% from 33.8%, despite an increase in many expenses.

Administration expenses increased by RM1.05mil or 12.2%, from RM8.58mil to RM9.63mil, principally due to the annual payroll adjustment and headquarters headcount increase in preparation for FY24 expansion plan.