NWP plans to contribute RM7 million to revenue from motorcycle business in 2021

PETALING JAYA (April 1): Wood products maker NWP Holdings Bhd, which diversified into the motorcycle business last year, expects the new company to contribute RM6-7million to its turnover this year.

Its CEO, Datuk Seri Nelson Kee Soon Ling, said the group hopes to take advantage of the food delivery boom amid the Covid-19 pandemic to increase its motorcycle sales.

The group has recorded total sales of 100,000 RM or 15 units of motorcycles since February, he said at a press conference after the group’s showroom launched here today.

The 15,000 square foot showroom, owned by its wholly owned subsidiary NWP Access Sdn Bhd, offers sales, service and spare parts for motorcycles, as well as a wide range of motorcycles from renowned brands such as Yamaha, Honda, Modenas and Benelli as well as a variety of motorcycle accessories.

“This motorcycle showroom is costing us around RM1 million including all operating expenses and capital expenses,†he said, adding that the company plans to expand its automotive business to other areas, such as Penang and Johor, by next year.

Kee said NWP will run a no-deposit promotion to sell 10,000 units of its motorcycles on credit to people whose finances are affected by the pandemic.

“The program is designed so that more riders can own motorcycles more affordably, and the daily payment can go down to RM3,†he said.

At today’s launch, NWP Access signed collaboration agreements with four partners, namely BlackBixon2Go Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of Ni Hsin Resources Bhd), IOU Pay (Asia) Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of iSentric) , Yayasan Keusahawanan Sosial and MBP Solutions Sdn Bhd (subsidiary of TFP Solutions Bhd), to further consolidate its services to its clients.

For the partnership with IOU, it aims to provide financial assistance to customers for the maintenance and replacement of spare parts of their motorcycles with the “Buy Now, Pay Later†program.

The collaboration with Yayasan Keusahawanan Sosial focuses on purchasing motorcycles with the Easy-to-Own program, while the partnership with MBP Solutions aims to provide services such as microinsurance to bikers to ensure their safety.

With BlackBixon2Go, NWP Access will provide motorcycles to facilitate the delivery of BlackBixon2Go’s energy coffee.

Regarding NWP’s real estate business, Kee said the company will partner with a real estate developer on a new project with a gross development value of RM300 million.

“Currently, we are still in the midst of discussions and plan to announce this partnership by next week,†Kee said, adding that the developer would hire NWP to undertake work related to property management and sales consulting.

Kee said two companies, namely GS Realty (M) Sdn Bhd and GT Nelson Sdn Bhd, will assist NWP on the project.

Kee is a 24.55% shareholder of GS Realty, one of the largest real estate agencies in Malaysia, which has offices and representatives throughout Malaysia, and partners in ASEAN countries.

NWP recorded a net loss of RM 1.44 million, on revenue of RM 714,000, for the quarter ended November 30, 2020 as business operations disrupted by the pandemic. For the 15-month period ended November 30, 2020, it recorded a net loss of RM 6.47 million on revenue of RM 6.6 million. There are no comparison numbers due to the year-end change from August 31 to February 28.

The NWP share price was 22 sen at 3 p.m., giving a market cap of RM 104 million.