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Daily Express
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Express
Life Water Berhad acquires Twinine
Published on: Friday, May 30, 2025 Published on: Fri, May 30, 2025 Text Size: Twinine recorded steady audited revenues of RM8.60 million in FY2022 and FY2023, and an unaudited RM8.50 million in FY2024, with a three-year average profit after tax (PAT) of RM0.91 million. Kota Kinabalu: Life Water Berhad, one of Sabah's leading beverage manufacturers, is taking a major leap beyond its core business with the RM10.5 million acquisition of Twinine Sdn Bhd, a seasoned player in the sauces and condiments market. Life Water Managing Director Liaw Hen Kong, said the move marks a significant milestone in Life Water's diversification strategy, while its core drinking water segment is set to grow by 40 percent with new production capacity coming online by the end of 2025. 'The acquisition was formalized via a Share Sale Agreement (SSA) to acquire 100 percent equity interest in Twinine, a company with over 35 years of experience and market presence across Sabah's West Coast, parts of Sarawak and Brunei,' he said in a statement. He said Twinine recorded steady audited revenues of RM8.60 million in FY2022 and FY2023, and an unaudited RM8.50 million in FY2024, with a three-year average profit after tax (PAT) of RM0.91 million. 'This is a strategic step forward in expanding our presence within the broader FMCG space. 'Twinine's product line complements our distribution capabilities, and we see clear potential to accelerate growth through cross-branding and tapping into shared consumer segments. We're particularly excited about bringing their products deeper into the East Coast of Sabah, where our existing network gives us a strong foothold,' he added. Advertisement As part of its integration plan, he said, the company will introduce dual-shift operations at Twinine's existing facility to boost production. 'The Group is also exploring the establishment of a new manufacturing site at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park to support long-term growth in the condiments category. Twinine's founder will remain on board for two years to guide the transition and help drive expansion plans,' Liaw said. The acquisition is expected to enhance group earnings and accelerate Life Water's entry into new consumer markets under its broader fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) strategy. The company also revealed that its core drinking water operations are on track for a 40 percent capacity increase by the end of 2025. Liaw said The Group's new Keningau plant, operational since early this year, has already added 59 million liters of annual production, pushing total capacity to 448 million liters per annum. Further expansion is underway at the Sandakan Sibuga Plant 1, where a new manufacturing line is being commissioned and expected to be completed in the second half of 2025. 'This will add another 178 million liters of annual capacity, raising the Group's total production to 626 million liters—a 40 percent increase compared to current levels,' he said. The company also announced its financial performance for the third quarter ended 31 March 2025 (Q3FY25), reporting RM43.12 million in revenue—up 0.95 percent from the previous quarter—driven by seasonal demand for carbonated and fruit beverages. Liaw emphasised that the drinking water segment remained the largest contributor, accounting for 82.6 percent of revenue. The Group achieved a gross profit (GP) of RM19.52 million with a GP margin of 45.3 percent, while profit before tax (PBT) was RM8.11 million and PAT stood at RM6.48 million. Margins slightly moderated due to the implementation of the minimum wage policy and temporary inefficiencies linked to expansion. For the nine-month period ended March 31, Life Water recorded RM128.42 million in revenue and RM20.97 million in PAT, maintaining a solid PAT margin of 16.3 percent. With a two-pronged strategy of organic growth and strategic diversification, Life Water is positioning itself as a rising multi-category FMCG player in East Malaysia. The Twinine acquisition enhances its product offerings and opens new growth channels, while the expanded production footprint ensures continued leadership in the bottled water space. Liaw said, as consumer demand evolves and competition intensifies, Life Water remains optimistic about its growth trajectory for FY2025 and beyond. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
The Star
3 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Elon Musk's rocket-fueled ride with Trump flames out
Once a fixture at the Republican president's side, dressed in t-shirts and MAGA baseball caps, Musk had shown growing disillusionment with the obstacles faced by DOGE even as it cut a brutal swath through the US bureaucracy. — AP WASHINGTON: Elon Musk stormed into US politics as President Donald Trump's chainsaw-brandishing sidekick. Four turbulent months later it's the tech tycoon himself on the chopping block. Trump hailed Musk as "terrific" as he announced that they would hold a joint press conference on May 30 as the South African-born magnate leaves the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). "This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way," Trump said on his Truth Social network on May 29. But the warm words could not hide the open frustrations that Musk, the world's richest man, had expressed in recent weeks about his controversial cost-cutting role for the world's most powerful man. Once a fixture at the Republican president's side, dressed in t-shirts and MAGA baseball caps, Musk had shown growing disillusionment with the obstacles faced by DOGE even as it cut a brutal swath through the US bureaucracy. He leaves far short of his original goal of saving US$2 trillion (RM8.50 trillion), with The Atlantic magazine calculating he saved just one thousandth of that, despite tens of thousands of people losing their jobs. Instead he will focus on his Space X and Tesla businesses, as well as his goal of colonising Mars. Rocket-like rise It was all very different at first, as the 53-year-old Musk rose through Trump's orbit as rapidly as one of his rockets – though they have been known to blow up now and again. Musk was the biggest donor to Trump's 2024 election campaign and the pair bonded over right-wing politics and a desire to root out what they believed was a wasteful "deep state". DOGE was jokingly named after a "memecoin", but it was no joke. Young tech wizards who slept in the White House complex shuttered whole government departments. Foreign countries found their aid cut off. A shades-wearing Musk brandished a chainsaw at a conservative event, boasting of how easy it was to save money, and separately made what appeared to be a Nazi salute. Soon the man critics dubbed the "co-president" was constantly at Trump's side. The tycoon appeared with his young son X on his shoulders during his first press conference in the Oval Office. He attended cabinet meetings. He and Trump rode on Air Force One and Marine One together. They watched cage fights together. Many wondered how long two such big egos could coexist. But Trump himself remained publicly loyal to the man he called a "genius". One day, the president even turned the White House into a pop-up Tesla dealership after protesters targeted Musk's electric car business. 'Got into fights' Yet the socially awkward tech magnate also struggled to get a grip on the realities of US politics. The beginning of the end "started (in) mid-March when there were several meetings in the Oval Office and in the cabinet room where basically Elon Musk got into fights," Elaine Kamarck of the Brookings Institution told AFP. One shouting match with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent could reportedly be heard throughout the West Wing. Musk publicly called Trump's trade advisor Peter Navarro "dumber than a sack of bricks". Nor did Musk's autocratic style and Silicon Valley creed of "move fast and break things" work well in Washington. The impact on Musk's businesses also began to hit home. A series of Space X launches ended in fiery failures, while Tesla shareholders fumed. Musk started musing about stepping back, saying that "DOGE is a way of life, like Buddhism" that would carry on without him. Finally, Musk showed the first signs of distance from Trump himself, saying he was "disappointed" in Trump's recent mega spending bill. Musk also said he would pull back from spending time on politics. The end came, appropriately, in a post by Musk on Wednesday on the X network, which he bought and then turned into a megaphone for his right-wing politics. But Musk's departure might not be the end of the story, said Kamarck. "I think they genuinely like each other and I think Musk has a lot of money that he can contribute to campaigns if he is so moved. I think there will be a continued relation," she said. – AFP
