Kurnia Group
Kurnia Asia Berhad Declares Interim Dividend of 36.1%
August 29th, 2005
Petaling Jaya, 29 August 2005 - The Board of Directors of Kurnia Asia Berhad
(KAB) is pleased to declare an interim dividend of 36.1% for the financial
year ending 30 June 2006. The dividend declared by KAB translates to a gross
dividend of 9.03 sen per share and after deducting for income tax, the net
dividend is 6.5 sen per KAB share of RM0.25 each. The entitlement and payment
of dividend have been scheduled for 16 September 2005 and 23 September 2005
respectively.
Based on the total outstanding shares of 1.5 billion, the net dividend to
be paid to shareholders will amount to RM97.5 million or equivalent to a payout
ratio of 63.5% of KAB group's net earnings of RM153.4 million and 95.3% of
KAB group's post-acquisition profit of RM102.3 million for the financial year
ended 30 June 2005.
The dividend to be paid to shareholders also surpasses the commitment made
by the company in its prospectus dated 30 December 2004 by 2.5 sen net per
share or by 62.5%.
According to Dato' Adrian Loh, the Chief Executive Officer of KAB, the group
is confident that its performance for the current financial year will remain
satisfactory. The group will also maintain a steady dividend payout policy
of between 40% and 60% of its net earnings for the current financial year ending
30 June 2006.
KAB (KURASIA 5097) is a member of Morgan Stanley Capital International Inc.
(MSCI) Malaysia Index beginning 1 June 2005 and is listed on the Main Board
of Bursa Malaysia since 27 January 2005. KAB is the holding company of Kurnia
Insurans Malaysia Berhad (KIMB).
KIMB is the largest general Insurer in Malaysia and Southeast Asia with gross
premiums exceeding RM1 billion. It has wide network of 30 branches and more
than 3 million policyholders. It is the fastest-growing general insurer offering
a full range of general insurance products and innovative services such as
Kurnia Auto Assist and Kurnia Express.