TH REVAMP STARTING TO PAY DIVIDENDS
Total assets of RM76.5b has exceeded liabilities by RM1b
TABUNG Haji’s (TH) restructuring exercise has started to bear fruit with its surplus having exceeded liability by around RM1 billion.
Universiti Selangor Business and Accountancy Adjunct Prof Dr Zaharuddin Abd Rahman said TH’s restructuring so far looked promising, based on the initial results.
“I believe for 2019 onwards, hibah will be healthier and TH will be more stable in the longer term.
“Insya-Allah (God willing), I expect TH to rebound strongly and
be on par with other funds like the EPF (Employees Provident Fund) and PNB (Permodalan Nasional Bhd) in the next two to three years,” he said.
TH said its total assets stood at RM76.5 billion as at December 31 last year, which were higher than its liabilities of RM75.5 billion.
Income was RM4.2 billion while distributable profit totalled RM2 billion.
TH had to recognise a RM1.5 billion impairment last year, which reduced the distributable profit.
Bank Islam Malaysia chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the TH board was prudent in its accounting practices, especially in implementing MFRS 9 standard.
He added that TH reported impairment and other losses amounting to RM1.51 billion last year, which was 12.5 times higher than the previous year.
“It is kind of pushing a reset button to a large degree. As such, the potential asset recovery in the future will mean there can be an upside potential to its profitability,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday.
Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof declared a hibah of 1.25 per cent totalling RM913 million for depositors in Putrajaya yesterday.
“The successful completion of the restructuring plan reflected the government’s determination to rescue TH and protect the interest of 9.3 million depositors,” he said.
Putra Business School associate professor Dr Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said the public must realise that the low hibah rate was not because of last year’s poor performance alone but also due to accumulation of losses for the past few years by the previous management.
He said if the public were to withdraw their deposits because of the low returns, then they were doing an injustice to the current management.
“Huge withdrawal by the public will cause a bank run and will also affect TH operations,” Dr Ahmed Razman added.