KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — MR DIY Group Bhd shares fell in early trade on Bursa Malaysia after reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
The country’s largest home improvement retailer saw its net profit decline to RM147.20 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2024 (4Q FY2024), against RM158.63 million in the same quarter last year.
In contrast, revenue edged up to RM1.18 billion versus RM1.15 billion previously, primarily driven by contributions from new store openings.
For the full financial year (FY2024), net profit rose slightly to RM568.94 million from RM560.67 million in the preceding year.
Its revenue grew 6.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM4.65 billion compared with RM4.36 billion in FY2023, supported by 13.8 per cent increase in new stores and a 10.8 per cent y-o-y rise in total transactions to 182.8 million.
At 10.27 am, MR DIY’s stock dropped 11.39 per cent, or 18 sen, to RM1.40, with 27.23 million shares traded.
Despite the weaker quarterly results, CIMB Securities Sdn Bhd maintained a "buy" recommendation, though it lowered its target price (TP) to RM2.15.
The investment bank remains optimistic about MR DIY's robust earnings prospects, dominant market position and solid balance sheet.
"We have revised our FY2025-FY2026 earnings per share estimates down by 7.8 per cent to 8.6 per cent to reflect delays in the commissioning of the new warehouse, higher labour costs, and weaker sales due to softer consumer sentiment," it said.
Meanwhile, RHB Investment Bank Bhd also reiterated a "buy" call setting a TP of RM1.87, citing MR DIY’s ability to capitalise on expected improvements in consumer spending, driven by higher disposable income in FY2025.
"Generally, rising wages should translate to higher disposable income for lower-income earners, who have a higher marginal propensity to spend and fall into MR DIY’s key customer base.
"Additionally, the expansion of new brands, including KKV and Colorist, has shown promising results. MR DIY plans to ramp up outlet openings to over 30 stores in FY2025," the bank added.
— Bernama
