KUALA LUMPUR: Apex Healthcare Bhd’s net profit jumped 43.8% to RM20.7mil in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (4Q21) compared with RM14.39mil a year ago.

       Its revenue in 4Q21 registered a jump of 22.3% to RM198mil from RM162mil recorded in Q420.

       The board of directors at Apex Healthcare has proposed an increased final single-tier dividend of 3.0 sen per share in respect of FY21, as well as a special single-tier dividend of 6.0 per sen in conjunction with the 60th anniversary of the founding of Apex Healthcare.

       The proposed dividends will be tabled for shareholders’ approval at its upcoming annual general meeting.

       For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21), Apex Healthcare recorded revenue growth of 10.3% to RM770.8mil from RM698.7mil in the preceding year.

       Its net profit improved by 6.1% to RM59.4mil from RM56mil recorded in FY20.

       Chairman and CEO Dr Kee Kirk Chin said the group registered commendable growth in revenue and profits towards the second half of last year, mainly attributed to the increased market demand for pharmaceuticals, consumer healthcare products and medical devices.

       “Covid-19 is now evolving largely as a community respiratory illness with milder symptoms for the majority of cases, and this has led to a significant rise in demand, especially for our market leading range of products for coughs and colds.

       “Since the start of the pandemic, we were responding rapidly to meet changing market needs, by quick sourcing and supplying of in-demand products such as face masks, hand sanitisers, thermometers, antigen test kits and oximeters. This is in addition to new products that were launched during the year, which further expanded our portfolio of off-patent generic medicines in both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) categories,” he said in a statement.

       Going forward, Kee said Apex Healthcare would continue to focus on strengthening its fundamentals and leveraging its experience and network reach to sustain business growth to meet the healthcare needs of the community.

       “As we move into 2022, Apex Healthcare will focus on three key priorities – growing the market share of our pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products, seizing market opportunities through rapid supply of in-demand healthcare products and tapping into the prospects for new contract manufacturing partnerships.

       “We are cognisant that the pandemic continues to bring about various challenges such as supply chain disruptions, workforce infections, elevated raw materials and freight costs and emergence of new variants, amongst others.

       “But we remain steadfast and cautiously optimistic on the growth prospects for the group, as we celebrate our 60th year in the business, and aim to continuously create value for our shareholders and stakeholders,” Kee said.