KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): Berjaya Corp Bhd (KL:BJCORP) remained in the red for its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 (2QFY2025), dragged by high finance costs and investment-related expenses.

The net loss for the three months, however, narrowed to RM88.68 million from RM120.77 million in 2QFY2024, according to the conglomerate’s bourse filing on Thursday.

The loss extended Berjaya Corp’s stint in the red to three consecutive quarters.  

The group’s bottomline was dragged to the red by higher investment-related expenses of RM58.97 million versus RM10.8 million, mainly due to a RM49.52 million net impairment on investment in associated companies.

Berjaya Corp booked finance costs of RM133.41 million in the quarter compared to RM153.06 million in 2QFY2024.

Revenue for 2QFY2025 was largely steady with a 1.27% slip to RM2.2 billion from RM2.23 billion in 2QFY2024, mainly due to the food retail segment and property segment’s lower contributions.

Berjaya Corp attributed the food retail segment’s lower revenue to the prolonged impact of ongoing sentiment surrounding the conflict in the Middle East, and the property segment’s lower revenue on the completion of The Tropika Bukit Jalil development in 4QFY2024.

The group's other segments — non-food retail, hospitality and services — saw improvements in revenue contribution. Only the property segment posted a loss at the pre-tax level.

For the six months ended Dec 31, 2024, Berjaya Corp’s net loss widened to RM256.53 million from RM109.7 million a year earlier, as revenue dropped 7.7% to RM4.43 billion as compared to RM4.8 billion previously.

Looking ahead, Berjaya Corp said the performance of its domestic business segments are expected to improve, supported by strong consumer spending and improved tourism activities.

“As for the gaming business [under the services segment], it is expected to maintain its growth trajectory, in line with the ongoing popularity of Lotto and Digit games to achieve commendable results,” it added.

The group remains cautiously optimistic for the remaining quarters of the financial year to be “satisfactory”.

Shares in Berjaya Corp ended one sen or 3.51% higher at 29.5 sen, valuing the group at RM1.76 billion.