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According to a report in The Star, Malaysian steel maker & processor Ann Joo Resource Bhd anticipated 2021 to be a challenging year and rwill focus on its export market amid uncertainties in the domestic market. Ann Joo Resource in a filing with Bursa Malaysia said “On the domestic front, the demand outlook remains uncertain given the impact of Covid-19 on the pace of construction activity. The group will continue to focus on exports, in view of the expected continued demand from China and South-East Asian markets.”
Ann Joo Resource added “The construction boom in China, which is fundamentally supported by the government’s efforts to pump prime the economy, should bolster demand in the medium term.”
For the fourth quarter of 2020, Ann Joo’s net profit fell 68.2% YoY to RM 6.2 million, while its revenue fell 10.7% YoY to RM 539.4 million. For the full-year, its net loss widened 11.3% YoY to RM 99.99 million, while revenue fell 14.9% YoY to RM 1.89 billion. Ann Joo said the lower revenue in 2020 was mainly driven by lower domestic sales tonnage and lower average selling prices during the first three quarters of the year.
The Group, through its steel-making plant and rolling mills, focuses on the production of steel product ranging from billets, bars to wire rods serving mainly the construction and engineering sectors. The Trading Division deals with a broadly diversified product portfolio comprising of a variety of flat and long steel for supply to a wide array of economic sectors. Ann Joo also specialises in the slitting and shearing of steel coils into plates and sheets of various shapes, sizes and dimensions which supports and complements the steel trading business.