BToto Q1 net profit rises 16.9%

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd’s (BToto) net profit for the first quarter ended July 31, 2018 rose 16.92% to RM86.89 million from RM74.31 million a year ago due to improved results from Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd and H.R. Owen Plc.

Revenue for the quarter rose 1.97% to RM1.50 billion from RM1.47 billion a year ago due to revenue growth attained by H.R. Owen.

The board declared a first interim dividend of 4 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending April 30, 2019 (FY19), payable on Oct 23, 2018. The entitlement date has been fixed on Oct 5, 2018.

The first interim dividend distribution for FY19 will amount to RM53.89 million, representing about 62.01% of the attributable profit of the group for the first quarter.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the group said Sports Toto registered a marginal increase in revenue and 14% increase in pre-tax profit during the quarter, mainly due to lower prize payout and operating expenses. The Philippine Gaming Management Corp (PGMC) saw a marginal drop in revenue due to lower lease rental income earned from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. However, pre-tax profit rose 12.2% mainly due to higher operating expenses a year ago. Upon translation to ringgit, PGMC reported a 11.3% drop in revenue while pre-tax profit rose marginally due to unfavourable foreign exchange effect during the quarter. Meanwhile, H.R. Owen’s revenue rose 4.2% to RM698.8 million from RM670.7 million a year ago while pre-tax profit rose 35.4% to RM20.9 million from RM15.5 million a year ago. The improved results reported by H. R. Owen was mainly due to revenue growth attributed to higher new vehicle sales during the quarter. Commenting on future prospects, BToto expects Sports Toto’s business performance to be satisfactory. The group remains confident of maintaining its market share in the numbers forecast operators business for the rest of FY19.