Shah Alam, 26 Feb 2013 – The UMW Group announced today that its Group revenue of RM4,090.3 million for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2012 exceeded the RM3,456.7 million registered in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter by RM633.6 million or 18.3 percent. The higher revenue was mainly contributed by the Automotive and Oil & Gas segments.
Consequently, Group profit before taxation of RM459.4 million for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2012 outperformed the RM350.0 million registered in the preceding year’s corresponding quarter by 31.3% or RM109.4 million. All business segments with the exception of the Automotive segment, registered improved profit before taxation in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company in the fourth quarter of 2012 improved substantially to RM207.6 million from the RM84.1 million recorded in the same quarter of 2011, an increase of RM123.5 million or 100 percent.
Group revenue for the financial year ended 31 December 2012 of RM15,890.2 million exceeded the RM13,535.8 million registered in the same period of 2011, an increase of RM2,354.4 million or 17.4 percent. All four core business segments of the Group reported higher revenue for the period under review.
In tandem with the increase in revenue, the Group profit before taxation increased substantially to RM2,000.5 million, an increase of 46.5 percent or RM635.2 million from the RM1,365.3 million registered in the same period of 2011. All four core business segments of the Group registered better profit for the financial year of 2012.
Consequently, net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company for the financial year ended 31 December 2012 improved significantly to RM951.0 million from the RM485.8 million registered in the year 2011, a surge of RM465.2 million or 95.8 percent.
Automotive Segment
Revenue for the Automotive segment of RM3,049.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2012 exceeded the RM2,416.4 million registered in the same quarter of 2011 by RM632.6 million or 26.2 percent. The revenue increase was attributable to higher sales of Toyota vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2012 by approximately 28.4 percent or 6,070 units compared to the same quarter of 2011, which was affected by the March 2011 tsunami in Japan and flood in Thailand.
However, Perodua recorded a reduction of 5,417 units or 10.8 percent in vehicle sales in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the same quarter of 2011.
Despite the higher revenue, profit before taxation recorded in the fourth quarter of 2012 of RM426.0 million, was RM50.7 million or 10.6 percent lower than the RM476.7 million recorded in the same quarter of 2011. The reduction was attributable to the following:
Higher selling and distribution expenses: and
Unfavourable USD exchange rate fluctuations.
Equipment Segment
The revenue for the Equipment segment in the fourth quarter of 2012 declined by RM99.5 million or 18.5 percent over the RM537.3 million recorded in the same quarter of 2011. Generally, demand for its heavy and industrial equipment had softened due to the slow-down in the economy of the countries where it operates. Suspension of some mining activities overseas has also affected the demand for its mining equipment.
Despite the lower revenue, the Equipment segment registered a profit of RM9.5 million versus the RM37.4 million loss registered in the same quarter of 2011. This was due to a turnaround of an overseas subsidiary which had registered a substantial loss in the corresponding reporting period.
Oil & Gas Segment
The Oil & Gas registered a higher revenue of RM412.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the RM334.5 million recorded in the same quarter of 2011, an increase of RM78.3 million or 23.4 percent. The revenue improvement was attributable to the following:
Increase in day rate for NAGA 3 offshore rig;
Additional revenue contribution from the Garraf Power Plant Phase 1 project; and
Full quarter revenue contribution from HAKURYU-5, a semi-submersible rig. HAKURYU-5 was income-generating from November 2011. The increase in revenue has resulted in a profit of RM4.2 million compared to a loss of RM150.4 million in the corresponding quarter of 2011. The positive contribution was due to the favourable movement in fair value of its overseas quoted investments as well as the lower impairment on investment and certain assets of the segment.
Manufacturing & Engineering Segment
Revenue for the Manufacturing & Engineering segment improved in the fourth quarter of 2012 by RM6.2 million or 3.6 percent compared to the same quarter in 2011. The higher revenue was contributed by stronger demand for Kayaba products and improved sales from its new automotive component and lubricant business in India and China, respectively.
Higher revenue had contributed to higher profit before taxation for the fourth quarter of 2012 of RM1.7 million compared to a loss of RM13.0 million recorded in the same quarter of 2011. It was also attributable to the gain on fair value assessment of derivative which had resulted from the strengthening of USD against INR.
Dividend
The Board is pleased to declare a final single-tier dividend of 50 percent or 25.0 sen (2011 – 15 percent or 7.5 sen) per share of RM0.50 each, amounting to a net dividend payable of approximately RM292.1 million (2011 – RM87.6 million) for the financial year ended 31 December 2012, if approved by shareholders, the dividend will be paid on 15 August 2013.
The total single-tier dividend for the financial year ended 31 December 2012 would be 50.0 sen or 100 percent per share of RM0.50 each, amounting to approximately RM584.1 million of net dividend (2011 – 31.0 sen or 62 percent per share of RM0.50 each, amounting to a net dividend of RM362.2 million).
