Handsome reward from Hartalega? (BUSINESS TIMES,30/10/13) Glove maker expected to announce 16 sen dividend while bonus shares remain uncertain Hartalega Holdings Bhd’s dividend payout in the current fiscal year may increase by as much as 21 per cent, analysts said. They are, however, unsure if the glove maker will issue bonus shares for the third time in six years to reward shareholders as well as to expand its capital base. In the year ended March 31 2013, Hartalega announced a dividend of 13 sen, or 7.79 per cent more than the previous year. There is a consensus among 11 analysts covering the stock that Hartalega will pay 16 sen cash dividend for the current financial year. This will be 20.97 per cent more than the previous financial year’s cash reward to stakeholders. Hartalega’s shareholders include the Employees Provident Fund, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and Singapore Unit Trusts. The buzz in the market is, however, more towards a bonus issue for shareholders as previously, Hartalega had issued bonus shares when the stock reached the RM7.80 level. “The share split will depend on its par value. But if the company has liquidity, I don’t think it will announce one so soon,” Mercury Securities head of research Edmund Tham told Business Times. Hartalega was listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2008 with an initial public offering (IPO) price of RM1.80. At the current price, inclusive of the bonus issue and dividend, investors who bought the IPO would have seen their investment grow ninefold. Hartalega, post-share splits, is worth more than RM5 billion in the marketplace, boosting the wealth of its founder Kuan Kam Hon. The 66-year-old Kuan is a virtual unknown in corporate Malaysia and is seen by many as Malaysia’s newest self-made billionaire. Kuan, who turned his stagnating wovenlabel business into a world leader in the latex glove field, is poised to lead the company to a record profit this year. It will mean that Hartalega’s expected profit of RM263.7 million will surpass the revenue earned in the year it was listed. Hartalega closed one sen lower at RM7.32 yesterday.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 03:55:09 +0000
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