KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 27): Conglomerate Sunway Bhd (KL:SUNWAY) saw its second-quarter net profit rise 17%, as stronger performances from its property development and healthcare businesses more than offset a sharp decline in construction revenue.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30, 2026 (2QFY2026) increased 16.7% to RM318.59 million from RM272.95 million a year earlier, while revenue rose 13.4% to RM2.91 billion from RM2.56 billion, according to its Bursa Malaysia filing on Thursday.

Sunway declared a first interim dividend of three sen per share during the quarter, payable on Oct 15. As at end-June, Sunway had RM8.64 billion in cash and bank balances, against total bank borrowings of RM16.41 billion, comprising RM8.93 billion in current borrowings and RM7.47 billion in long-term borrowings.   

During 2QFY2026, construction revenue fell 38.6% to RM779.33 million, mainly due to several data-centre projects that had reached peak construction stages. However, the group’s order book is growing after securing RM6.9 billion in new work, exceeding its original full-year replenishment target of RM6 billion. 

These included RM2.8 billion of data-centre-related contracts and a RM400 million contract to build Sunway Medical Centre Iskandar Puteri. Sunway consequently raised its FY2026 new-order replenishment target to between RM7 billion and RM9 billion. Its outstanding construction order book stood at a record RM10.5 billion as at Aug 21.

“Looking ahead, the group remains cautiously optimistic of its prospects for financial year 2026, given its diversified business model, robust unbilled sales, continued expansion of healthcare bed capacity, record-high outstanding construction order book and resilient recurring-income businesses,” group president Datuk Anuar Taib said in a statement accompanying the results.

Sunway’s property development arm achieved RM2.3 billion in property sales in the first half after launching projects with a combined gross development value (GDV) of RM2.7 billion. The group is targeting RM4.2 billion in property sales for the full year, while unbilled property sales stood at RM8.3 billion.

As at end-July, it had 2,338 acres of remaining landbank with an estimated GDV of RM87.7 billion.

For the six months ended June 30, 2026 (1HFY2026), Sunway’s net profit surged to RM9.73 billion from RM463.51 million a year earlier. Revenue increased 10.8% to RM5.46 billion from RM4.93 billion.

The 20-fold increase in first-half profit was mainly due to a RM9.10 billion one-off gain arising from the remeasurement of Sunway’s investment in Sunway Healthcare Holdings Bhd (KL:SUNMED) to fair value following the healthcare group’s listing and its reclassification as a subsidiary.

Overall, Sunway said its diversified and integrated portfolio remains positioned to benefit from Malaysia’s continued economic growth, supported by domestic consumption, investment activity and structural growth in sectors including healthcare and digital infrastructure.  

Shares of Sunway closed two sen or 0.4% lower at RM5.11 on Thursday, valuing the group at RM34.78 billion. The stock has fallen about 7% year to date.