{
  "id": 3417962,
  "title": "ITMAX earnings seen setting new base as smart city rollout accelerates: HLIB",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/itmax-earnings-seen-setting-new-base-as-smart-city-rollout",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-26T03:38:37.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2026/08/1518942/itmax-earnings-seen-setting-new-base-smart-city-rollout"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "KUALA LUMPUR: ITMAX System Bhd reported earnings of roughly RM30 million for the latest quarter, potentially setting a new benchmark for upcoming financial periods. Analyst Sam Jun Kit from Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) believes the digital services infrastructure (DSI) segment holds further growth potential in the latter half of the 2026 financial year, particularly with the full contribution from MBJB smart parking, which began operations on May 1.\n\nCompared to the initial smart parking rollout, where ITMAX faced upfront costs to reactivate parking bays, most of Johor Baru's 70,000 gazetted parking spaces are now in active use. This has led to a substantial increase in the collection rate, now standing at around 30 per cent, presenting additional growth opportunities for the company.\n\nFor 2027, earnings growth is anticipated to stem from the installation of a further 2,000 CCTVs in MBJB, along with CCTV and Social Security Organisation (Perkeso) projects in Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK). The latter two projects will be counted under the supply, installation, and maintenance services (SINMS) segment, with margins expected to be comparable to CCTV contracts.\n\nRegarding the second-quarter earnings, Sam Jun Kit stated that ITMAX's core profit after tax and minority interest (Patami) totaled RM30.5 million, a 16.7 per cent increase year-on-year. This brought the first-half core Patami to RM55 million, a 27.3 per cent rise year-on-year. These results met both HLIB's expectations and consensus forecasts, accounting for 46 per cent and 45 per cent of their respective full-year projections, as stronger earnings are expected in the second half of the year.\n\nFor the second quarter, revenue climbed by 13.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter, fueled by stronger contributions from DSI and SINMS. HLIB retained its Buy recommendation on ITMAX with an unchanged target price of RM6.08. The valuation was based on a discounted cash flow analysis, using a seven per cent weighted average cost of capital and a three per cent terminal growth rate. Sam Jun Kit believes the terminal growth assumption reflects the long runway for CCTV deployment across Malaysia, driven by national digitalisation and smart city initiatives. He noted that ITMAX's current rollout of 10,000 CCTV units for DBKL is relatively small compared to Singapore's 90,000 units, with Singapore targeting 200,000 units by 2030. Over time, ITMAX is expected to monetize its infrastructure further through smart city applications such as digital twins, traffic impact assessments, and analytics, solidifying its role as a key enabler of urban digital transformation.",
  "summary": "KUALA LUMPUR: ITMAX System Bhd’s quarterly earnings of around RM30 million could become the new base for the coming quarters, supported by its smart parking and CCTV businesses, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB).",
  "key_points": [
    "ITMAX reported RM30 million earnings for latest quarter, potentially new base",
    "MBJB smart parking active, collection rate at 30%, growth opportunities",
    "2027 earnings growth from 2,000 CCTVs, CCTV & Perkeso projects"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}