The group is also creating the flexibility to expand into new correlated businesses that enable it to leverage its strengths and build for the future

by S BIRRUNTHA

YTL Corp Bhd remains committed to the group’s strategy of building resilience, solidifying the foundational strength of its core competencies moving forward.

MD Datuk Yeoh Seok Kian said this is whilst creating the flexibility to expand into new correlated businesses that enable the group to leverage its strengths and build for the future. He added that the Malaysian infrastructure conglomerate’s strong performance for the year under review, despite challenging operating conditions across many industries, sets the groundwork for the year ahead.

“The group is determined to continue on this positive trajectory going forward. YTL Corp has a long-standing track record of developing businesses that are economically viable and sustainable on a long-term basis.

“This is reinforced by a group-wide commitment to achieve carbon neutrality in operations by 2050,” he said in the group’s 2022 annual report which was filed with Bursa Malaysia recently.

Seok Kian noted that this aspiration is in line with the target of the government and consistent with the policy goals of the major countries where YTL Corp operates, some of which are at more advanced stages of this journey and will be valuable in informing the progress and advancements for the rest of the group.

Meanwhile, YTL Corp executive chairman Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping commented that the world in general is facing challenges on multiple fronts, including recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with risk of the emergence of new variants, the military conflict in Ukraine and knock-on effects on energy prices, the escalating climate emergency and rising inflationary pressures.

“Given the international scale and breadth of our operations, our ability to address and manage these factors remains of paramount importance. Our commitment to developing viable, sustainable, long-term businesses forms our bedrock in this regard.

“The general arc of our expansion has continued on a consistent track towards investing in and developing businesses that are economically, environmentally and socially sustainable, utilising the latest technological advancements and instilled with the robust governance culture that is the cornerstone of our group,” he said.

Commenting further, Sock Ping said owing to the geographic extent of the group’s operations and different nature of businesses across the domestic and international utilities, construction, cement, hospitality and property industries, YTL Corp has committed to a group-wide target to achieve carbon neutrality in its operations by 2050.

 

Operations Abroad

He highlighted that the group’s businesses in the UK and Singapore, however, which form a significant part of the group’s operations at this stage, are much further ahead in the journey — given the advancements in those jurisdictions — and expected to reach this target sooner.

“The progress and advancements we made this year will stand us in good stead for the year ahead. We have reinforced the operational efficiency and strength of our existing operations while moving ahead with strategic new businesses, and are well prepared to meet the future,” he noted.

As the domestic property market has continued to contend with increasingly cautious consumer sentiment, the Brabazon project by YTL Corp is going well in the –.

Sock Ping highlighted that the Brabazon project is progressing well after the group championed a new concept this year as a result of intensive consultation with regional businesses, governments and community organisations in the Bristol area.

Brabazon is a mixed-use development scheme — a new neighbourhood for Bristol — being built on the former Filton Airfield, the largest brownfield site in the South West.

YTL Developments (UK) Ltd was granted permission to transform this historic site into an urban neighbourhood in 2018. The 354-acre (143.26ha) Brabazon, YTL Developments’ first major mixed-use scheme in the UK, will take more than 10 years to complete. Sock Ping said the revamped vision for Brabazon focuses on ensuring that more sustainable homes are built in the right places.

“Right places mean on brownfield land along existing transport corridors like at Brabazon, where public transport connections and active travel routes provide a genuine alternative to cardependent lifestyles,” he added.

Hospitality

In terms of hospitality, Sock Ping said that the recovery of the world’s tourism sector has been advancing to varying degrees as a result of the reopening of international borders and the gradual shift towards managing the endemic phase of Covid-19.

“Increasing inflationary pressures and geopolitical concerns may give rise to further challenges but these factors are expected to be further tempered by abundant pent-up demand and improving economic conditions, benefitting our hotels and resorts across the globe that can offer an unparalleled quality of service and unique experiences,” he said.

For the full financial year ended June 30, 2022 (FY22), YTL Corp registered a net profit of RM530.55 million compared to a net loss of RM367.66 million for FY21, with a 40% jump in revenue to RM24.16 billion from RM17.27 billion.

The group attributed the strong performance to its construction division seeing a better performance, recovering from pandemic restrictions at the start of the financial year, supported by the revival and acceleration of infrastructure, housing and commercial projects.

Meanwhile, it said improved results in the property segment were due mainly to higher sales, while its hotels division continued to see better results following the gradual recovery of the tourism and hospitality sectors as the year progressed.

The group also declared an interim dividend of three sen per share, which is to be paid on Nov 29.

At the time of writing, YTL Corp’s share price closed unchanged at 56 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM6.28 billion.