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business
Glomac pre-tax
profit increases
to RM56.7mil
KUALA LUMPUR: Glomac Bhd’s pre-tax
profit for financial year ending April 30
this year rose by 12.9% to RM56.7 million
from RM50.2 million in the same period
last year.
Revenue increased by 8.4% to RM351.6
million from RM324.3 million previously.
For the fourth quarter ending April 30
this year Glomac’s revenue rose by 38.8%
to RM99.9 million, while pre-tax profit
surged 195.9% to RM14.5 million.
In a statement here yesterday, the
property developer said the improved
performance was attributed to strong
progress billings from its ongoing projects,
with maiden revenue contribution from
Glomac Galleria, Seri Bangi and Glomac
Tower.
It said the group’s profit included
RM4.4 million fair value gain from the sale
of Wisma Glomac 3, one of its investment
properties within the commercial develop-
ment of Kompleks Kelana Centre Point.
Minority interest for the year was higher
due to the higher contribution from 51%
owned Glomac Tower, it said.
It said as a result, the group recorded
net profit of RM32.3 million compared with
RM35.1 million previously.
Glomac is proposing a final dividend of
3.5 sen less 25% tax for the financial year
ending April 30 this year. – Bernama
ASN announces 6.30 sen per unit for ASD
KUALA LUMPUR: Amanah Saham Na-
sional Bhd yesterday announced a lower
income distribution of 6.30 sen per unit
for its Amanah Saham Didik (ASD) for
the financial year ending June 30, 2009.
Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB)
chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Ha-
mid said the income distribution would
involve a total payment of RM156.82
million.
It will benefit 224,729 unit holders
who collectively own 2.83 billion units
of ASD.
Announcing the income distribution
here, Ahmad Sarji said it had been a
challenging year due to the global invest-
ment environment, which was severely
affected by the financial crisis.
“Our prudent financial strategy has
enabled the ASD to provide competitive
returns for its unit holders,” he told a
press conference here yesterday.
As of June 19, ASD recorded a gross
income of RM185.94 million.
Of this amount, the profit from the
sale of investments contributed RM80.26
million or 43.16% while dividend income
from investors contributed RM88.68 mil-
lion with the remaining income of RM17
million, derived from investments in
short term instruments.
Commenting on the lower income dis-
tribution, PNB president and group chief
executive Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che
Othman said as the fund manager, it had
the capacity to pay up to 9.7 sen.
He added that the declared income
distribution is however reasonable due
to the uncertain economic conditions.
For the financial year ended June 30,
2008, ASNB declared a seven sen per unit
distribution for unit holders of the ASD.
PNB owns Amanah Saham Nasional,
the manager of the ASD.
All transactions for ASD at the ASNB
offices and its agents will be suspended
from June 24-30 to facilitate the calcula-
tion of income distribution.
Meanwhile, on the additional Amanah
Saham Malaysia (ASM) units offered
recently, Hamad Kama said the Indian
quota of 500 million units had almost
been taken up.
“About 485 million units have been
taken up so far. Besides that, 145 million
units are available for other races,” he
added.
In April, the fund manager offered
3.33 billion new units of ASM and two
billion Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020
units. – Bernama
BMedia posts pre-tax
profit of RM36.42mil
KUALA LUMPUR: Berjaya Media Berhad (for-
merly known as Nexnews Berhad) recorded
a consolidated revenue of RM82.81 million
and pre-tax profit of RM36.42 million for
the 16-month period ending April 30, 2009.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the
company said the revenue was substantially
contributed by its principal subsidiary, Sun
Media Corporation Sdn Bhd for the period
under review.
The pre-tax profit achieved was mainly
attributed to the operating profit contributed
by Sun Media and also the recognition of
exceptional gain arising from the disposal of
theEdge on Aug 26 last year.
The board noted that with the prevailing
economic conditions, the group will face
tremendous challenges in the forthcoming
financial year.
Against this backdrop, the group will strive
to increase its market share of advertisement
revenue by aggressive marketing initiatives
and widening its readership via better circula-
tion channels/points.
On Dec 23 last year, Berjaya Corporation
Berhad (BCorp), the holding company of Ber-
jaya Media (BMedia), announced that BCorp
BERNAMAPIX
KTB suffers 20% drop in demand
KUALA LUMPUR: Konsortium Transnasional
Berhad (KTB) suffered a 20% drop in demand for
its services from April this year, its chairman and
managing director, Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd
Salleh said.
“The sudden imposition of the 30% surcharge
on bus fares in September last year is a reason
behind this decline. The public are shocked by the
surcharge and travel less by bus now,” he said after
the KTB annual general meeting here yesterday.
AirAsia removes administration charges
KUALA LUMPUR: Low-cost carriers, AirAsia
and AirAsia X, have removed administration
charges effective midnight yesterday, enabling
travellers to save up to RM30 and RM42 respec-
tively.
AirAsia group chief executive officer, Datuk
Seri Tony Fernandes, said the move would lower
the fares and boost passenger volume during the
present difficult times.
He said the group was also expected to lose
revenue of about RM400 million regionally and
proposed to distribute by way of dividend-in-
specie of up to 119,084,708 ordinary shares
of RM1.00 each of BMedia to the shareholders
of BCorp, on the basis of 25 BMedia shares for
every 1,000 ordinary shares of RM1.00 each
held in BCorp.
This proposed dividend-in-specie will
improve the public shareholding spread of
the BMedia.
As the improved shareholding spread
will only be known on the completion date
of the said proposal, BMedia will decide its
next course of action to address its public
spread after the implementation of the said
proposal.
On Nov 24 last year, BMedia announced
the Board of Directors of the Company has ap-
proved the change of year end from Dec 31 to
April 30 in order to be coterminous with its hold-
ing company. Thus, the filing to Bursa covers 16
months, from Jan 1, 2008 to April 30, 2009.
During the 16-month financial period
ended April 30, 2009, the BMedia paid an in-
terim dividend of 14 sen per share single-tier
exempt dividend-in-specie on 232,362,822
ordinary shares of RM1.00 each amounting
to RM32,530,795.
Nadzmi said he prefers that the government
increase bus fares on an annual basis of between
5% to 7%.
“A minimal but annual increase will give the
public a chance to adapt to the new price slowly,”
he added.
He also said that the outbreak of the influenza
A (H1N1) also did not help the industry as demand
for the Singapore route had decreased by 40%.
Nadzmi also urged the government to consider
RM250 million in Malaysia.
“We want to be more proactive. The best
way to get people to fly is through high quality
products and lower fares,” he said at the launch
of AirAsia’s Major Tariff Adjustment here yes-
terday.
The administration charges are between
RM22.50 and RM43.50 for one-way travel.
Fernandes said he was confident the move
would not hurt the group’s profitability as it
would be bolstered by ancillary businesses like
theSun | THURSDAY JUNE 25 2009
KNM expects
to retain
profit level
PUTRAJAYA: Process equipment maker
KNM Group Bhd expects its profit for the
financial year ending Dec 31, 2009 to be
comparable with the last financial year.
Its group managing director Lee Swee
Eng said the projection was based on
the anticipated pick-up in demand and
enquiries for oil and gas exploration
projects supported by the high crude oil
price which is hovering at US$60-US$70
per barrel presently.
Cool For the financial year ending Dec
31, 2008, KNM recorded a profit of
wheels RM336.232 million with a revenue of
for boy RM2.528 billion.
racers “When the oil price dropped to US$30
per barrel, many customers put on hold
pg 22 their projects.
“But the situation looks more positive
now with the oil price coming back.
Many of these projects are being revived
and our customers have started calling
us for negotiation,” Lee said after KNM’s
annual general meeting here yesterday.
“Among the active areas is the Middle
East. As the areas there mostly produce
conventional oil, the cost of development
Ahmad is fairly cheap and the current oil price
Sarji (left) level is profitable for them,” Lee said.
and Hamad Demand for deepwater oil in Brazil
Kama and liquefied natural gas in Australia is
announce also picking up, he added.
the income KNM which has a 3% share of the
distribution world’s process equipment market, ex-
for ASD at
Menara PNB
yesterday.
pects a bigger revenue contribution from
its overseas operations.
Currently its overseas business con-
tributes 70% while the domestic opera-
tions contribute the rest.
KNM’s focus for this year would be
moving up the value chain in order to
have products with stronger margin and
less competition, he said.
It would also continue to look at op-
portunities for merger and acquisition, he
said, adding that such moves must add
value in terms of earnings and opportuni-
ties to move up the value chain, add new
products and look at new geographical
areas that could be a niche market with
strong demand.
Asked on the group’s order book, Lee
said that it “will not be as big as the last
quarter because of the slowdown in the
market... but still sizeable.”
The group will make an announce-
ment after consolidating all figures from
its subsidiaries and a analysts briefing
next week.
KNM, with an order book of RM3.9
billion as at March, won about RM300
million of orders between December and
January.
The company’s balance sheet is
healthy with a net gearing of 0.6 time
after considering cash balances of RM400
million to RM500 million. – Bernama
seriously the current stage or city bus situation.
“The government should look at what other
countries such as Australia and Indonesia have
done to save the industry. There, the government
pays the bus operators based on mileage.
“The government cannot be a part of the busi-
ness. I’d like to see this kind of policy change as it
is affecting the bus operators,” he said.
The stage bus operation contributes only one
third of KTB’s revenue. – Bernama
food and hotel via increase in passengers.
“We posted a record profit of RM220 million
in the first quarter when we removed fuel sur-
charge. We feel the same way this time (about
removing administration charges),” he said.
Fernandes hoped that airports worldwide
would be able to reduce charges to further en-
courage air travel. He said the RM6 airport tax
for domestic flight was all right, but the RM51 for
international flight at the low-cost carrier termi-
nal should be reduced to RM10. – Bernama