Boustead Set To Strengthen Prospects

PETALING JAYA, April 7, 2014 – Building on its strong performance for the financial year ended 31 December 2013, Boustead Holdings Berhad (BHB) looks forward to enhancing its prospects with the proposed listing of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Boustead Plantations Berhad (BPB).

Subject to shareholders’ approval at the Group’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) today, upon listing, the total enlarged and paid-up share capital of BPB will be RM800 million comprising 1.6 billion shares. The listing comprises an offer for sale of up to 76,000,000 offer shares and a public issue of 580,000,000 issue shares to be issued to retail and institutional investors.

YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, Deputy Chairman/Group Managing Director, Boustead Holdings Berhad said, “Despite the challenging economic landscape, we are pleased to note that almost all of our Divisions have contributed positively to the Group. In order to maintain our growth momentum, we constantly seek out viable opportunities to grow and add value to our investments.”

“As part of our long-term growth strategy, the proposed listing of BPB is a significant undertaking that will enable the Group to unlock the value of our plantation assets, which will be consolidated under BPB. We are confident that this corporate exercise will allow us to strengthen our earnings via greater economies of scale and streamlined operations.”

“Moreover, we have always maintained our commitment to delivering value to our shareholders. In line with this, existing shareholders of BHB and previous unitholders of Al-Hadharah Boustead REIT will be able to benefit from this exercise, where they will be allocated IPO shares for application without having to ballot,” concluded YBhg Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Lodin.

The Group ended the 2013 financial year with improved results, delivering a profit before tax of RM708 million, a 19% jump compared with RM593 million in the previous fiscal year. This was achieved on the back of a turnover of RM11.2 billion, representing an 14% increase from the previous year’s RM9.8 billion.

The key contributor was the Property Division with a profit of RM215 million. This was followed by the Trading & Industrial Division which registered a profit of RM140 million. The Plantation Division recorded a profit of RM131 million, though it was impacted by depressed commodity prices. The Finance & Investment Division contributed a profit of RM103 million, while the Pharmaceutical Division registered a profit of RM71 million. The Heavy Industries Division experienced a downward revision of profit margin for the Littoral Combat Ships project.

The Group’s dividend payout net of tax for the year was 30 sen per share, a 5.3% yield based on the closing price for the year under review. Total dividend payout for the year amounted to RM310 million.

Since its inception as a modest trading entity more than 180 years ago, the Boustead Group has grown by leaps and bounds to comprise more than 90 subsidiary and associate companies, and has substantial interests in various sectors of the Malaysian economy. The Boustead Group’s operations are focused in six key areas; plantation, heavy industries, property, finance & investment, trading & industrial and pharmaceutical. As at 31 December 2013, Boustead Holdings Berhad’s paid-up capital was RM517 million while its shareholders’ funds stood at RM5.2 billion. Market capitalisation is currently in excess of RM5.5 billion.


Forward looking statements This release may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial conditions, results of operations and business of the Group and certain plans and objectives of Boustead Holdings Berhad with respect to these items. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

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