Highlight YTL Corp 9M profit jumps 41% yoy to RM1.9b, declares dividend 1 sen

by **Cals** Wed 21 May 2014, 01:53

Highlight YTL Corp 9M profit jumps 41% yoy to RM1.9b, declares dividend 1 sen

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Jeffrey Tan of theedgemalaysia.com

Tuesday, 20 May 2014 18:22

KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): YTL Corporation Bhd’s profit jumped 41% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM1.9 billion for the nine-month period ended Mar 31, 2014, from RM1.4 billion in similar period the previous year.

However, revenue fell a marginal 1.9% y-o-y to RM14.7 billion from RM14.9 billion.

YTL Corp declared an interim dividend of 10% or 1 sen per ordinary share of 10 sen.

In a press statement, YTL group managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping said: “Higher profit for the period was due primarily to better performance of the concrete and quarry businesses in our cement division.”

“This also includes contributions from the uniquely-styled Fennel and Capers condominium developments in our Sentul urban regeneration project.”

Yeoh said the consolidation of results from Starhill Global REIT in Singapore, which owns prime retail properties across Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Japan, also enhanced YTL’s profits.

He added better performance in the water and sewerage, mobile broadband and power generation sub-segments of YTL’s utilities division also bolstered profit for the nine months under review.

Despite the flattish revenue, Yeoh said: “Our cement, property development and investment and hotels divisions all registered stronger revenues, offsetting decreases in our construction and utilities divisions.”

The statement also outlined the performance of other listed companies under the YTL family.

YTL Power International Bhd’s registered profit fell 1.2% y-o-y to RM752.3 million in the nine-month ended March 31, from RM761.6 million a year ago.

Revenue fell 7.4% y-o-y to RM11.1 billion from RM11.9 billion.

YTL Power said the poorer performances were due to lower units of electricity sold and lower fuel oil trading and vesting contract volumes in the merchant multi-utilities division. This also included higher unrealised foreign exchange losses.

Nevertheless, the firm said its power generation business in Malaysia and water and sewerage business in the United Kingdom continued to perform well.

It added that the “Yes” mobile broadband platform, which operates across Malaysia, continued to see solid growth in subscription levels.

YTL Hospitality REIT said net property income rose 16.9% y-o-y to RM157.7 million for the nine-month period ended Mar 31, 2014, from RM134.9 million.

Revenue soared 68.9% y-o-y to RM324.6 million from RM192.2 million.

The REIT said distributable income grew 12.7% y-o-y to RM86.4 million from RM76.6 million.

Thus, it declared an interim distribution of 2.0804 sen per unit.

The REIT said the improved performance was due mainly to the recognition of revenue generated by the Trust’s Sydney Harbour, Melbourne and Brisbane Marriott hotels in Australia.

YTL Land & Development Bhd said the firm’s profit increased to RM20.0 million for the nine-month period ended Mar 31, from RM11.6 million a year ago.

Revenue soared 110.3% y-o-y to RM239.4 million from RM113.9 million.