BToto declares 4th interim cash dividend of 7 sen a share

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) declared a dividend of seven sen per share for its fourth quarter ended April 30, 2014, bringing its full-year payout to 26.5 sen.
In a statement yesterday, BToto said the fourth interim dividend distribution for the FY14 will amount to RM94.4 million.
"The total dividend distribution (inclusive of the share dividend) for the financial year ended April 30, 2014 is approximately RM355.3 million, representing about 109.7% of the attributable profit of the group for the financial year ended 30 April 2014," it said.
BToto saw its fourth quarter net profit declined by 8.3% from a year earlier due to results of Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Berjaya Philippines Inc (BPI).
Revenue, however, jumped 46% to RM1.36 billion with the consolidation of London-listed luxury car dealer HR Owen plc.
In Q4, its principal subsidiary, Sports Toto, recorded a 0.8% drop in revenue mainly due to partial sales contribution from the Chinese New Year festive period.
Sport Toto pre-tax profit also dropped 27.7% mainly due to higher prize payout and operating expenses including charitable contributions in the current quarter.
BPI, meanwhile, recorded lower revenue and pre-tax profit of 6.5% and 10.7% respectively mainly due to lower lease rental income earned as a result of lower sales reported by Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
BToto said that BPI's higher percentage drop in pre-tax profit was mainly due to the finance costs incurred in the current quarter under review.
Meanwhile, BToto's full-year net profit fell 17.2% to RM323. 93 million from RM391.08 million. Revenue, however, rose to RM3.63 billion from RM3.61 billion.
The group recorded a 12.2% drop in pre-tax profit due to the previous financial year benefiting from the gain on disposal of certain investments coupled with corporate exercise expenses incurred in the current financial year.
"Excluding the corporate related expenses, the drop in the group's pre-tax profit would have been 8.4%," the company said.
Looking ahead, BToto said the gaming sector in Malaysia is expected to remain resilient and the group expects to maintain its market share in the number forecasting operator business.