PETALING JAYA: Bermaz Auto Bhd shares rose to a 13-month high after its fourth quarter net profit more than doubled on higher domestic Mazda sales and improved margins.
Its shares jumped as much as 13% or 11.5 sen to RM1.02 earlier today, its highest level since May 2025.
The stock closed 10% higher at RM1.00, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.16 billion. A total of 15.2 million shares were traded.
The stock has risen 40% since the start of the year, an impressive turnaround for the distributor of Mazda and XPeng vehicles.
In its exchange filing yesterday, Bermaz announced its net profit surged 120% to RM46.62 million for the fourth quarter ended April 30 (Q4 FY2026) from RM21.2 million a year ago while revenue rose 3% to RM544.67 million from RM528.65 million.
However, for the full year, net profit fell nearly 30% to RM104.73 million from RM153.6 million in FY2025 while revenue dropped 13.2% to RM2.28 billion from RM2.62 billion.
Bermaz said the higher Q4 revenue was largely due to stronger sales volume from its domestic Mazda operations, particularly the Mazda3, which continued to receive good consumer response. The appreciating ringgit also helped to cut costs of imported vehicles and components.
This was partly offset by lower sales from its domestic Kia operations, following the cessation of the distributorship in November 2025.
The group said the fall in full-year profit was mainly due to lower profit contribution from its domestic Mazda operations and share of losses from associated companies, compared with share of profits in the previous year. This was partly mitigated by profit contribution from its domestic XPeng operations.
Bermaz, formerly known as Berjaya Auto Bhd, declared a total dividend of 3.5 sen per share for the quarter, payable on Aug 5, 2026. Total dividends for FY2026 amounted to 7.25 sen per share, compared with 16.75 sen per share in FY2025.
The worst is over
Despite the weaker full-year results, several research houses upgraded their calls on the stock, with their analysts stating “the worst is likely over for the group” while cautioning that competition remains intense.
“We expect stronger earnings delivery driven by the upcoming new launch of the CX-5 sport utility vehicle model,” said CIMB Securities, which upgraded its call to “buy” from “hold” and upped its target price to RM1.25 per share.
TA Research said the management remains cautious on the FY2027 outlook amid persistent inflationary pressures, geopolitical uncertainties and intensifying competition from Chinese marques.
It noted that Chinese XPeng electric vehicles was a bright spot for Bermaz with total sales rising 82.2% year-on-year to 1,501 units in FY2026.
TA maintained its “sell” call as it wants to “see more sustained earnings recovery and clearer visibility before turning more positive on the stock”. It raised its target price to 89 sen from 84 sen previously.
The company’s largest shareholder with a 15.37% stake as of July 31, 2025, is Dynamic Milestone Sdn Bhd, the investment vehicle of Bermaz executive chairman Yeoh Choon San and group CEO Lee Kok Chuan.
The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is the second largest shareholder with an 11.66% stake.
