Fitters ... July 09

Fire safety products manufacturer Fitters Diversified Bhd expects to conclude five agreements to the tune of some US$45 million (RM158.9 million) worth of renewable energy jobs in China and Thailand by the third quarter of this year with 12 more projects in the pipeline.

The deals for the projects include four in China totalling US$30 million for biomass renewable energy plants while its Thailand project worth US$15 million is for municipal solid waste.

It would be doing a fund-raising exercise to undertake these projects but would not happen until the agreements were finalised.

The company, which diversified into the renewable energy business in 2007, is also in the final stages of securing another 12 projects in China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Of the 12 projects, most of them were bids for biomass projects. Each of its biomass projects averages about US$8 million while each of the municipal solid waste project is worth about US$30 million to US$40 million.

On its two contracts valued at nearly RM64.8 million awarded by Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) last year (2008), it was still waiting to sign the contracts. The first contract is worth RM54.23 million for the conversion of KTMB’s vacuum and dual- brake systems to air-brake system for KTMB’s wagons. The second contract is to set up a service and maintenance centre for KTMB for RM10.56 million.

Its maiden property project on a 3.37ha parcel of land in Setapak was in full swing. The project, which is a three-storey shopping mall, is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2010. The project is expected to have a gross development value of RM500 million. Fitters had bought the parcel of land and sold it to Parkson Retail Group, which subsequently commissioned the company to build the shopping mall.

Fitters, via its 51%-owned subsidiary through Z’odd Design Sdn Bhd, is also in the midst of bidding for more jobs from its current contract with Universal Studios Singapore Theme Parks.

Fitters would continue to grow its three core businesses in manufacturing and distribution, engineering and construction, and property and new business division.

For its first quarter ended March 31, 2009, Fitters posted a net profit of RM1.43 million on the back of RM24.14 million in revenue, versus a net loss of RM135,000 against RM31.31 million revenue a year earlier. The net profit was due to gains from the finalisation of the disposal of a wholly owned subsidiary, Cameron Fresh Farms Sdn Bhd.

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