UEM Edgenta Bhd has announced a special dividend of 18 sen for the financial year ended December 31, 2017 together with a second interim dividend of five sen, raised the total dividend for the year to 31 sen.

This is the highest dividend payout by UEM Edgenta, following the disposal of 61.2 per cent stake in Opus International Consultants Limited (“OIC”) of RM 274.9 million

Revenue for FY17 stood at RM2.1 billion, which is 34.3 per cent higher than FY16’s revenue of RM1.6 billion.

The group has also recorded a full-year Profit After Tax (PAT) of RM434.8 million while Profit Before Tax (PBT) for FY17 was RM172.9 million, which was marginally lower compared to the previous year’s PBT of RM181.5 million. 

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.

Net profit for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2017 spiked to RM324.81 million from RM16.49 million a year earlier while revenue grew 31.08 per cent to RM672.31 million against RM512.9 million.

On prospects, UEM Edgenta said in a statement, they expect to continue to deliver strong dividend payout and return to shareholders in FY18. 

“This will be backed by its strong and stable earnings as well as growth in all of its business divisions.

“Operational excellence initiatives and thereon margin expansion will also be key for UEM Edgenta in FY18, so as to result in a stronger quality revenue base and profitability post-OIC disposal.

“The company will continue to realise synergies from its acquisitions, and deploy technology-based enablers to its customers, as well as rolling out performance-based contracting,” it said. 

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