KTB seen gaining from new public transport initiatives

Tuesday, 14 October 2014

By: NG BEI SHAN

 Shares in bus operator Konsortium Transnasional Bhd (KTB) gained on expectation that fresh initiatives to boost public transport usage in urban areas will benefit the company.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his Budget 2015 speech last Friday said the Government planned to offer discounts on monthly bus fares for city workers residing outside Kuala Lumpur.

The first three routes under this programme are Rawang-Kuala Lumpur, Klang-Kuala Lumpur and Seremban-Kuala Lumpur.

It was also revealed in the budget that stage bus services would be upgraded by contracting existing bus companies in Kuching, Ipoh, Seremban, Kuala Terengganu and Kangar.

“I do not know the details of the initiatives. But public transport is definitely the way to go,” KTB chairman and managing director Tan Sri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh said when contacted by StarBiz yesterday.

KTB is the largest operator of public buses in Malaysia, with stage and express bus operations covering all major cities and towns as well as in Singapore.

Yesterday, the stock closed 1.5 sen higher at 31 sen, with 24.63 million shares changing hands. It rose to a high of 33 sen during the trading day amid a weak overall market sentiment.

Last month, Nadzmi tightened his control over the company after he acquired an additional 15% of KTB from Affin Investment Bank at 62.5 sen apiece for RM40mil.

Following the purchase of the bloc via Nadicorp Holdings Sdn Bhd, Nadzmi holds close to 75% in KTB.

He told StarBiz in a previous interview that he was optimistic about the local bus industry and believed that big bus operators would continue to thrive.

KTB operates a fleet of 1,200 buses.

In the first half ended June 30, the company made a net profit of RM5mil on the back of RM111.75mil in revenue. Compared with the corresponding period a year earlier, earnings fell 64.79% from RM14.2mil while revenue shed 5.42% from RM118.16mil in financial year 2013.