SOUTH-EAST Asia largest’s cable and wire group, Leader Universal Holdings Bhd, has secured new orders, with an estimated value of RM700mil that is to be delivered over the next six months. Group managing director and chief executive officer Sean H’ng said the group’s cable and wire products catered for the power and telecommunications sectors both in Malaysia and overseas.
He said: “We have exported almost RM340mil worth of cables and rods to Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East in the first six months of this year.”
The group had always maintained strong exports to balance its local sales, H’ng said.
Export sales currently accounts for about 30% of the total revenue of cable and wire divisions.
H’ng said local demand for cables had slowed slightly in the second quarter of this year, following the country’s general election, as well as some delays in the implementation of public sector projects.
He said: “The group expects local demand for its cable products to pick up possibly towards year-end and early 2009, based on the expected increase in infrastructure spending under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
“There will be strong demand from the Bakun undersea cable project and the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) projects.”
He noted that the 12 hydroelectric dams to be built under the SCORE project would provide a positive stimulus for the demand of power cables and conductors.
For the Bakun undersea cable project, H’ng said: “There will be substantial demand for 500KV high voltage direct current (HVDC) overhead transmission lines both in Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia.
“We will bid for the project as Leader Universal has a good track record of manufacturing and supplying HVDC transmission lines,” he said.
H’ng said that Leader Universal would continue to improve its manufacturing capabilities to maintain its competitiveness and produce higher value added specialty cables to fetch better margins.
“We are looking at going upstream in our manufacturing activities to stay competitive,” he said.
Leader Universal reported a 19.5% increase in net profit at RM33.6mil for the first six months of 2008.
Revenue for the period under review rose 7.7% at RM1.32bil while its earnings per share was maintained at 7.69 sen.
On its power generation business, H’ng said Leader Universal’s new 200MW coal fired power plant in Sihanoukville, Cambodia was scheduled to be completed by 2012. “The power purchase and implementation agreements and government guarantee were executed in March this year,” he said.
H’ng also said that Leader Universal was actively looking for other power generation and transmission projects in Asia Pacific.
“The group is aiming to grow the power business to complement its core business in cable and wire.
“Concession business gives us the stability of income that complements well with our manufacturing businesses.”
Power generation business presently contributes about 8% of the total group’s revenue.
Its subsidiary, Universal Cable (M) Bhd, was the recipient of the Export Excellence Award in 2007 which was awarded by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
In the recent report issued by Integer Research of Britain, the group’s LEADER brand ranked 31st in the world and 12th in Asia of all major cable & wire companies by revenue, and 10th in Asia by net profit.
