ASNB announces income distributions for ASD, ASN2

KUALA LUMPUR: Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB), a wholly-owned unit of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), has announced income distributions of six sen per unit for Amanah Saham Didik (ASD) and 3.10 sen per unit for Amanah Saham Nasional 2 (ASN 2) for financial year ending June 30, 2017.

PNB Chairman, Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, said the income distribution for ASD involved a payout of RM332.7 million, benefiting some 300,000 unit holders who subscribed for 5.54 billion units.

For ASN2, ASNB allocated RM45.8 million which would benefit over 24,000 unit holders who subscribed for 1.48 billion units, he said.

"ASD, as at May 31, 2017, recorded a net income of RM275 million, derived mostly via capital gains (RM201.85 million) and dividend payment (RM108.88 million)," he told a media briefing after announcing PNB's first-half financial performance here yesterday.

During the same period, Abdul Wahid said, ASN 2 recorded a net income of RM49 million, more than double from the RM22.45 million achieved in the previous financial year, supported by rising market and strong stock selection.

He said the dividend of 3.10 sen for ASN 2 translated into a dividend yield of five per cent, contributing 11.9 per cent total return for ASN 2 year-to-date.

The strong performance was in line with PNB's strategy to refocus its ASNB Variable Funds, to allow for more sustainable long-term returns for investors and enable the unit price for the variable funds to increase over time, he said.

He said it would also minimise the risks of returns declining below par as porfolio quality was optimised with less pressure to divest good stocks to deliver good dividend.

The income distribution calculation for ASD was based on the average monthly minimum balance held throughout its financial year, while for ASN 2, it was calculated based on the units held on the last day of its financial year, he said.

Abdul Wahid said ASD's income payment would be reinvested into additional units and automatically credited into unit holders'' accounts on July 1, while for ASN 2, the units will be credited based on the net asset value as at June 30, 2017.

Meanwhile, PNB also announced that its Assets Under Management grew 4.1 per cent year-on-year to RM265.6 billion for the five-month period ending May 31, 2017, while net income increased 18.2 per cent to RM6.7 billion. — Bernama