KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — Integrated facilities management player UEM Edgenta Bhd has announced a special dividend of 18 sen for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 (FY17), which together with a second interim dividend of five sen, raised the total dividend for the year to 31 sen.
The dividend, the highest in more than a decade, was a big increase from the preceding year’s dividend of seven sen.
In its latest interim financial report to Bursa Malaysia, UEM Edgenta said its pre-tax profit eased by 4.7 per cent to RM172.92 million in FY17.
However, revenue rose to RM2.12 billion from RM1.57 billion in the preceding year.
For the fourth quarter, UEM Edgenta’s pre-tax-profit increased by about a third year-on-year to RM75.42 million, while revenue improved to RM672.31 million from RM512.9 million previously.
The group’s lower bottom-line performance in FY17 was attributed to several factors, including a RM25.6 million increase in interest expense incurred for its Murabahah term facility and sukuk.
Moreover, its consultancy division recorded a lower pre-tax profit for both the quarter and the year (by RM8.3 million and RM16.3 million, respectively), mainly due to works requiring external consultants.
On its prospects, the UEM Group Bhd subsidiary said it would continue to focus on operational excellence initiatives to drive better margins and profitability.
In addition, it expects to continue to realise synergies from its acquisitions and deploy technology-based enablers to its customers.
“Coupled with the healthy economic outlook for Malaysia, the board of directors is optimistic of achieving positive financial performance in 2018,” it said. — Bernama
