LCL tenders for RM300m Kazakh jobs

LCL tenders for RM300m Kazakh jobs



Group MD upbeat on prospects there

KUALA LUMPUR: Interior fit-out specialist LCL Corp Bhd has tendered for more than RM300mil worth of projects in Kazakhstan, which it hopes to clinch by year's end.

The company, which has a current order book of RM30mil–RM40mil in Kazakhstan, had already spent RM1.5mil on a showroom there, which it would formally launch in September, group managing director Low Chin Meng said.

Low is upbeat about the prospects in Kazakhstan because of the “massive developments to be put in place by the Kazakhstan government, high foreign direct investments in that country and the spill-over benefits from oil income as Kazakhstan has the world's fourth largest oil reserves”.

LCL's key growth driver is mainly overseas projects, especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). For the first quarter ended May 31, UAE jobs contributed 51% to the company's revenue, Kazakhstan (4%) and Malaysia (45%).

Low said he hoped that by year's end, LCL's overseas projects would contribute 70% of revenue and local projects, 30%.


LCL executive chairman Datuk Syed Ariff Fadzillah Syed Awalluddin and Low Chin Meng
“Our order book is worth approximately RM600mil, of which RM400mil is from the UAE.

“The majority of our ongoing projects are in Dubai, such as the Burj Dubai Mall Hotel, Dubai Marina Mall & Hotel and Atlantis Hotel at the Palm, which were awarded to us by well-known international property developers,” he said.

To support demand from overseas, the company invested almost RM9mil to set up a factory in Chennai, India, which is expected to be operational by the third quarter.

Low said the factory would provide cost savings and speed up delivery of materials to projects in the Middle East, Kazakhstan and India.

On new growth areas, he said the company would be looking at opportunities in North Africa and Russia by next year, but added that it would probably take two to three years to develop or secure big projects.

The company currently has four factories in Kajang and one in Sungai Buloh.

LCL's listing was transferred to Bursa Malaysia main board yesterday. Its shares finished 25 sen down at RM5.80.

For the first quarter ended May 31, the company posted an after-tax profit of RM4.1mil on revenue of RM50.1mil, up from RM2mil and RM38.4mil respectively in the year earlier quarter.