Boustead registers full year net profit of RM518m

KUALA LUMPUR : Boustead Holdings' net profit for the fourth quarter ended December dropped to RM150.5 million from RM192.3 million in the comparable quarter a year ago mainly due to the deficit from its heavy industries division and a reduction in fair value gain on investment properties.

In a statement yesterday, Boustead directors said revenue climbed to RM2.6 billion from RM2.5 billion due to strong business performance of all of its key divisions.

Pre-tax profit for the full year was RM619 million while net profit for the full year stood at RM518 million.

These results were achieved on the back of a strong full year revenue of RM10.2 billion, marking a substantial 19 per cent gain compared with the previous financial year's RM8.6 billion.

Deputy chairman and group managing director Tan Sri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin said it has been a challenging year for the group and despite this, it registered a sizable pre-tax profit of RM619 million.

"Our outlook for 2013, though positive, does hold some uncertainties that could impact earnings growth. However, what is crucial is that given our diverse stable of investment, we should be able to surpass our target," said Lodin.

Total dividend for the financial year increased to 32.5 sen, representing a 6.25 per cent yield based on year-end market price.

To date, dividends totalling 25 sen have been paid to shareholders.

The remaining 7.5 sen will be paid next month to shareholders on the register as at March 2013.

For the year under review, despite being affected by plunging crude palm oil prices and higher operating costs, the plantation division was once again one of the group's strongest contributors, delivering a profit of RM206 million.

The property division registered a profit of RM161 million for the year under review as the group's stable of properties continued to be well received.

With a record profit of RM159 million, the trading and manufacturing division's results represented a 40 per cent increase compared with last year's RM113 million.

The division's solid contribution was due to higher sales volume by its many business units, especially from homegrown retail petroleum network Boustead Petroleum Marketing Sdn Bhd, in addition to a gain on disposal of properties.

The group's finance and investment division recorded a substantially increased profit of RM110 million, representing a 144 per cent gain compared with the previous financial year's RM45 million.

Only in its second year as a contributor to the group's bottom line, the pharmaceutical division performed well registering a profit of RM80 million, a strong 19 per cent increase over 2011's RM68 million as a result of higher sales volume to the government sector and improved profit contribution from its international business, mainly in Indonesia.

The heavy industries division was visibly impacted by external factors, mainly the downcast economic environment for the maritime sector in addition to cost escalations that contributed to losses in the commercial shipbuilding segment.