Sports Toto Berhad reported a revenue of RM1.37 billion for the current quarter, showing a drop of 2.8% compared to the revenue of RM1.41 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The Group’s pre-tax profit declined by 49.9%, from RM96 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter to RM48.1 million in the current quarter.
Profit after tax also saw a sharp decline registering RM24 million compared to RM64 million in the previous years quarter.
In the current quarter ended 31 December 2023, the number gaming company recorded a 6.3% drop in revenue which it said was primarily due to conducting lesser draws (42 draws compared with 48 draws in the corresponding quarter of the previous year). Its pre-tax profit dropped by 16.5%, mainly due to lower sales, higher prize payouts, and higher operating expenses in the current quarter under review.
UK based automotive unit, H.R. Owen Plc’s revenue also declined by 4.8% this quarter compared to the corresponding quarter last year, but with a favourable foreign exchange effect, its revenue increased by 2.4% when converted into Ringgit Malaysia. However, it reported a pre-tax loss of RM15.8 million compared to RM0.8 million in the same quarter last year primarily due to lower revenue, higher operating expenses incurred resulted from inflationary pressures as well as higher depreciation following the completion and full operation of the Hatfield Centre. Its results were also negatively impacted by higher finance costs arising from interest rate hike as well as increased stocking loans.
For the 6-month period ended 31 December 2023
For the current 6-month period ended 31 December 2023, SPToto achieved revenue growth of 4.8% mainly contributed by H.R. Owen. However, the Group registered lower pre-tax profit by 31.8% in the current period under review mainly due to lower results reported by H.R. Owen and STM Lottery. Despite conducting fewer draws in the current period (84 draws versus 94 draws in the previous year corresponding period), STM Lottery managed to achieve a slight revenue increase of 0.2%. This growth was attributed to higher sales per draw, driven by improved sales from the higher accumulated jackpot prizes. However, its pre-tax profit dropped by 10.2% due to higher prize payout and operating expenses in the current period under review.
H.R. Owen’s revenue in the current period was on par with the corresponding period last year but its revenue was up by 10.1% when it is converted into Ringgit Malaysia due to the favourable foreign exchange effect. It reported a pre-tax loss of RM15.5 million as opposed to the pre-tax profit of RM10.9 million in the same period last year mainly attributed to higher operating costs incurred
The Board has declared a second interim dividend of 2.0 sen per share, amounting to approximately RM27.0 million, for the financial year ending 30 June 2024. The dividend is payable on 19 April 2024 and the entitlement date is set on 29 March 2024. The total dividend distribution for the financial period ended 31 December 2023 is approximately RM66.6 million.
