Kerjaya Prospek Loses Rm404mil Contract From Ecofirst Unit

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Kerjaya Prospek (M) Sdn Bhd will seek to recover pre-agreed damages from EcoFirst Consolidated’s unit BCM Holdings. (Kerjaya prospek pic)PETALING JAYA: Construction company Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd has lost a building contract worth RM404.35 million that was awarded to its wholly-owned subsidiary by a unit of property developer EcoFirst Consolidated Bhd.
The contract awarded to Kerjaya Prospek (M) Sdn Bhd (KPM) by EcoFirst’s subsidiary BCM Holdings Sdn Bhd via a letter of award (LA) dated June 8, 2023, was for main building and external works for a proposed residential project in Section 92, Bandar Kuala Lumpur.
In a Bursa Malaysia filing today, Kerjaya Prospek said BCM informed KPM in a letter dated Nov 15 that it “does not consider itself to be bound by the terms of the letter of award”.
The group said KPM, with the advice of its solicitors, will be taking the necessary steps to recover the pre-agreed damages from BCM as stated in the LA.
According to its filing, the contract work had yet to commence. Kerjaya Prospek chairman Tee Eng Ho said the group has not mobilised any resources for this contract at the moment.
He said BCM had not handed the project to KPM. “They were given six months to hand over. From what we know, they are still working on the substructure,” said Tee at media briefing today.
Asked why the contract had fallen through, he said he was not in a position to comment as it was “not related to Kerjaya Prospek”.
“It is not fair for us to comment on their behalf, because we have not started anything yet,” he added.
The lost contract will likely reduce its outstanding orderbook from approximately RM4.7 billion to RM4.3 billion, with jobs replenishment year-to-date dropping from RM1.6 billion to RM1.2 billion.
In a separate filing today, the group announced it posted a net profit of RM35.57 million for its third quarter ended Sept 30 (Q3 FY2023), a 23.5% increase from RM28.81 a year ago on the back of improved progress of construction work activities.
Revenue jumped 39.6% to RM362.2 million for the quarter from RM259.4 million a year ago, with its construction segment as the main contributor.
At the close today, its shares were up by 1 sen or 0.68% at RM1.49, with a market capitalisation of RM1.89 billion. - FMT

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