Berjaya Sports Toto 4Q profit falls 17% to RM76m

Berjaya Sports Toto 4Q profit falls 17% to RM76m
Business & Markets 2013
Written by Chong Jin Hun of theedgemalaysia.com
Tuesday, 18 June 2013 18:28

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18): BERJAYA SPORTS TOTO BHD [] (BToto) reported a 17% fall in fourth quarter net profit from a year earlier as the number-forecast operations (NFO) entity registered higher operating expenses.

In a statement to the exchange today, BToto said lower income from its Philippines unit had also curbed group bottom line. BToto said net profit came to RM75.63 million in the quarter ended April 30, 2013 (4QFY13) versus RM91.21 million previously.

Revenue, however, rose to RM930.97 million from RM916.13 million on higher income from NFO unit Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

"However, the group recorded a decrease in pre-tax profit of 12.6% mainly due to higher operating expenses incurred by the group as well as the results of Berjaya Philippines Inc. group (BPI) in the current quarter under review," BToto said.

Meanwhile, BToto's full-year net profit fell to RM384.98 million from RM405.48 million. Revenue, however, rose to RM3.63 billion from RM3.61 billion.

For 4QFY13, the firm plans to pay an interim dividend of four sen a share. This brings full-year payout to 28 sen compared to 27 sen a year earlier.

Looking ahead, BToto said the firm will continue to register earnings from Sports Toto in FY14.

This is because the proposed listing of STM-Trust on the Singapore bourse is due for completion in 2QFY14. In calendar year terms, the exercise is expected to be finalised between August and October. STM-Trust will wholly-own Sports Toto upon completion of the listing.

"In spite of the cautious economic outlook, the gaming sector is expected to be resilient and the directors expect the group to maintain its market share in the NFO business," BToto said.