Kuala Lumpur, 29 August 2018 – UEM Edgenta (“UEM Edgenta” or “Company”), a leading Total Asset Solutions company completed the first half (“H1 FY18”) of the financial year ending 2018 (“FY18”) with a strong performance, continuing its momentum from the previous quarter.

UEM Edgenta achieved H1 FY18 revenue of RM1.007 billion, which was 8.8% higher compared to H1 FY17. This is mainly due to additional highway maintenance work for the Infrastructure sector, revenue contribution from new contracts secured in the Healthcare sector in Singapore and Taiwan as well as the Real Estate sector.

Profit before tax (“PBT”) in H1 FY18 improved at a higher rate than revenue by 38.0% to RM90.2 million, against H1 FY17. This is driven by operational margin expansion for Infrastructure, Real Estate and Consultancy as well as interest savings from the repayment of a loan taken to acquire UEMS Pte. Ltd., the Commercial Healthcare arm of the Company. UEM Edgenta achieved a PBT margin of 9.0% in H1 FY18 compared to the prior year period of 7.1%.

Correspondingly, profit after tax in H1 FY18 stood at RM65.1 million and its balance sheet remains healthy, with a gross gearing ratio of 0.37 times. On the back of its half-year profits, UEM Edgenta has declared an interim dividend of 6 sen per share, equivalent to RM49.9 million, representing a payout ratio of 79% on H1 FY18 results. This is in accordance to the revised dividend policy of at least 50% and up to 80% payout ratio as announced by the Company in Q2 2018. The total dividend payout in FY17 (excluding special dividend) was 13 sen, which represents a yield of 5-6% based on current share price levels.

Moving forward, UEM Edgenta is optimistic to continue the growth momentum seen over the last two quarters, both in terms of driving revenue as well as improving profit margins via operational and organisational excellence initiatives.