MR DIY Group (M) Bhd’s fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2022 (4Q22), net profit rose 1.13% to RM136.1 million underpinned by a higher revenue but was impacted by the one-off additional prosperity corporate tax of RM10.2 million.

The home improvement retailer’s revenue grew by 9.3% to RM1.06 billion compared to RM975.4 million previously, primarily driven by positive sales contributions from new stores, which grew 20% to 1,080 stores, leading to a 15.2% increase in total transactions to 38.1 million.

Earnings per share for the quarter rose to 1.44 sen from 1.43 sen a year before.

MR DIY declared a dividend of RM56.6 million for 4Q22, taking the full year’s dividend payout to RM204.2 million.

For the 12 months period (FY22), MR DIY posted a net profit of RM472.9 million, up 9.5% from RM431.8 million, while revenue jumped 18.15% to RM3.98 billion against RM3.37 billion last year.

MR DIY CEO Adrian Ong is optimistic about the group’s prospects going forward, given the positive post-pandemic sentiment, he said in a statement.

“The more favourable freight environment and the strengthening of the Malaysian ringgit against both the US dollar and Chinese renminbi also favour a better performance.

“There are still concerns on the impact on household income given rising interest rate and increases in the cost of living,” Ong said in a separate statement.

During the year, given persistent cost pressures, the group said it made price adjustments to its core product offering, which has led to the improvement in gross profit margins in 4Q22 compared to earlier in the year.

The group expects margin to be sustained in FY23.

MR DIY shares fell 2 sen, or 1.13% to close trading yesterday at RM1.75. Its market capitalisation stood at RM16.5 billion. — TMR / pic source Mr DIY’s Facebook