KUALA LUMPUR, March 22 ― Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT), or the Armed  Forces Fund Board, has declared total dividends and bonuses of 12.5 per cent for financial year ended December 31, 2017 (FY17) .

In a statement today, LTAT said, the payment comprised six per cent dividend and 6.5 per cent special bonus in the form of unit trusts for active members.

LTAT said this followed a record profit in FY17 whereby it has registered a substantial 12.1 per cent increase in unaudited net profit of  RM667.1 million compared with the previous year’s RM595 million.

In line with its improved profit, LTAT said, it had announced an increase in dividends for the year, which was higher than the average yearly dividend and bonuses paid out since the establishment of the fund 45 years ago of 11.3 per cent per annum.

“LTAT has achieved commendable results during the year and I am pleased with its performance and am confident that it will continue to reach new heights of excellence for the benefit of serving and retired members of the Armed Forces,” said Minister of Defence, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.

LTAT said its total assets rose by 4.2 per cent to RM10 billion from RM9.6 billion last year with members’ contributions also improved to RM8.8 billion compared with RM8.6 billion registered in FY16.

On another note, the board said, it has processed 8,139 withdrawal applications from its members in 2017, upon completion of their service with the Armed Forces amounting to RM1.2 billion.

It said 2,401 members, who were eligible to purchase a house or land, were paid RM20.1 million as part of the Housing Withdrawal Scheme while as part of the Death and Disablement Benefits Scheme, RM6 million was paid out to 183 members or next-of-kin.

As part of the Perbadanan Perwira Niaga Malaysia transformation programme, LTAT said, it continued  to help the Armed Forces members cope with the rising costs of living via the provision of a variety of consumer goods at below market prices.

“To-date, a total of 50 categories of products are available through this programme whereby under this initiative, RM10.9 million was spent as subsidy in 2017,” it said.

The board said it has also contributed RM416.1 million to fund scholarships and welfare programmes for the benefit of over 134,600 eligible serving and retired members of the Armed Forces and their families. ― Bernama