JCorp to list QSR Brands

PETALING JAYA: Johor Corporation (JCorp) is aiming to list its subsidiary, QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd by November this year.

President and chief executive officer Datuk Kamaruzzaman Abu Kasim said QSR Brands planned to raise about RM2 billion from its initial public offering, with an estimated market capitalisation of RM6 billion upon listing.

“We have not decided on the details, but we intend to list both the upstream and downstream businesses,” he said at a press conference here yesterday.

QSR Brands, Malaysia’s largest fast food operation, is best known as the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut and Ayamas fast food brands, with 1,268 outlets and more than 35,000 staff in Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia.

It also manages a poultry farming segment that covers upstream and downstream interests.

Kamaruzzaman said QSR Brands’s revenue for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2017 (FY17) was higher at RM4.56 billion compared with RM4.24 billion in FY16.

On the outlook for FY18, he said the group was cautiously optimistic on surpassing the RM5.58 billion revenue it achieved last year, excluding the results from QSR Brands.

“The revenue for the QSR group of companies was not consolidated into the group as agreed with some other partners.

“If the listing goes through by November, it has to be consolidated into the group. Hence, we expect JCorp‘s revenue to surpass RM10 billion then, “he said.

On the group’s overall performance, Kamaruzzaman said it would be driven by the collective strength of its core businesses in

We have not decided on the details, but we intend to list both the upstream and downstream businesses. Datuk Kamaruzzaman Abu Kasim, president and chief executive officer

plantation, specialists healthcare, food and restaurant services, as well as property and industry development.

He said JCorp’s plantation arm, Kulim (M) Bhd, remained the largest contributor to the group with RM1.54 billion in revenue, or about 67 per cent of total revenue, without the consolidation of QSR Brands.

“Kulim, which was delisted from Bursa Malaysia in 2016, is expected to also be relisted on the bourse in two years.

“Currently, the group owns 58,000 hectares (ha) of plantation land, mostly used for oil palm. We are in talks with a few parties to acquire more land in Malaysia and Indonesia to expand the acreage to 100,000ha in another one to two years,” Kamaruzzaman added.

Speaking on its specialist healthcare subsidiary, KPJ Healthcare Bhd, he said it saw good revenue momentum after achieving more than RM3 billion annually for two consecutive years.

“In terms of expansion, the group expects to open an additional hospital in both Perlis and Johor this year,” he said.

JCorp is one of the largest employers in Malaysia, with over 61,000 employees throughout its various business segments, and it is also actively pursuing industrial innovation in the form of Industry 4.0. — Bernama