.png)
Period : 2006-2021
Date : 2nd Oct 2021
Researcher : Esther Low
Annual revenue for logistics industry
Bursa listed logistics companies experienced a steady flow of revenue in 2008 up till 2019, with revenue in the range of RM 22 billion to RM 30 billion a year. However due to the pandemic, where movement restriction resulted in a drop in supply and demand, revenue has been negatively affected for logistics companies in Malaysia. Revenue dropped by 9% from RM 29.9 billion in 2019 to RM 27 billion in 2020 with possibilities of poorer revenue reporting by the end of 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic.
Despite operating in a challenging environment due to the pandemic, logistic companies in the maritime and 3PL a reported higher revenue than it did in 2019. For 3rd party logistics providers (3PL), Tasco reported that they had an increase in revenue in 2020 (RM 836 million) compared to 2019 (RM 740 million). This increase in revenue is largely due to higher revenue in their contract logistics division, air freight services and cold supply chain division. The three divisions contributed RM 311 million, RM 143.7 million and RM 117 million respectively.
Tiong Nam reported a revenue of RM 572 million in 2020 . Revenue was mainly driven by the group’s core logistics and warehousing services segment where 2020 marked a year of higher warehousing services utilization and higher delivery volume. The group’s property and hotel & dormitory segments suffered minimal losses in 2020 due weak property market and tourism sector.
For e-commerce logistics operators, GD Express Carriers enjoyed a higher revenue in 2020 at RM 410 million, an increase of 24% from 2019. The higher revenue reporting is mainly driven by the group’s core B2B delivery segment, contributing 61% of the company’s revenue. However, the group also reported an increase in the e-commerce delivery segment (B2C) contributing 39% to the group revenue. Meanwhile Nationwide Express Holdings meanwhile continued to report a decline in revenue from RM 82 million to RM 48 million that was contributed by both courier and logistics division.
Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB) suffered huge losses in revenue when countries globally closed their borders and overseas travel were restricted. MAHB reported a revenue of RM 5.2 billion in 2019, the highest ever revenue reported for the company, before dipping by 36% to RM 1.8 billion in 2020. Losses incurred were mainly driven by poor passenger and aircraft movements amidst travel restrictions and border control measures. Meanwhile the group reported a resilient demand for health and medial cargo movements during the pandemic.
The maritime logistics companies such as Westport announced a revenue of RM 1.9 billion for financial year 2020, almost RM 200 million increase in revenue compared to RM 1.7 billion in 2019. Meanwhile Bintulu Port Holdings reported a slight dip in revenue of RM 8 million from 2019 (RM715 million) to 2020 (RM 708 million). Revenue was driven mostly by increased port services.
The higher revenue reported by most logistics companies in Malaysia however did not necessarily translate to a higher profit before tax (PBT). For 3PL providers Tasco and Tiong Nam both reported a slight increase in PBT of RM 44 million and RM 11 million respectively for the year 2020.
In the e-commerce categories, GD Express reported a higher PBT of RM 28 million in 2020 compared to RM 22 million in 2019. Meanwhile Nationwide Express reported a lower loss in PBT of RM 35 million in 2020 compared to RM 38 million in 2019 this was mainly due to restructuring and aggressive cost reduction strategies that the company took.
For MAHB, the company reported a staggering loss in PBT of RM 1.7 billion mainly due to weaken travel and tourism sector as the pandemic continues. The largest gainers in the period of 2019 to first half 2021 are Westports Holdings and Bintulu Port Holdings. For Westport Holdings, the group reported a higher PBT compared to 2019 at RM 865 million. Meanwhile Bintulu Port Holdings reported a lower PBT of RM 126 million. The lower PBT for Bintulu Port Holdings was attributed to higher operating expenditure during the year due to the provision of maintenance dredging work, charter hire expenses for additional crews, procurement of PPE and other consumables for staff to contain COVID-19.