Ranhill Holdings Berhad (Ranhill) achieved a solid year of progress, delivering an improved performance by leveraging on its proven track record. The Group is focused on strengthening prospects for its core businesses by tapping into opportunities in the environment and power sectors, both locally and overseas.
For its financial year ended 31 December 2017, the Group posted a higher profit after tax of RM120.6 million, up by 24.1% compared with RM97.2 million in the previous financial year. Profit before tax increased by 17.6% to RM198 million and revenue grew by 1.6% to RM1.479 billion while profit after tax attributable to owners of Ranhill grew by 30.9% to reach RM72.4 million from RM55.3 million. Earnings per ordinary share (EPS) also rose to 8.14 sen from 6.73 sen in the previous financial year.
In line with its performance for the year and as a reflection of its commitment to enhancing value for shareholders, the Group made a total Interim dividend payment of 3 sen per share and recommended a final dividend of 2 sen per share. This represents a total dividend payment of 5 sen per share for the financial year ended 31 December 2017 and a payout ratio of 61%. This in tandem with the Company’s dividend policy of returning 50% - 70% of its earnings to shareholders.
Tan Sri Hamdan Mohamad, President and Chief Executive of Ranhill Holdings Berhad, said, “These strong results were achieved on the back of improved contributions from our core businesses, with our environment sector as a key driver. Coupled with lower operational and financing costs, the Group turned in a commendable performance for the year.”
“Moving forward, we will continue to seek out viable opportunities, both locally and overseas. By 2022, we target to own and operate gross 1,000 megawatts (MW) power plants that deliver clean energy and 3,000 million litres daily (MLD) water and wastewater treatment capacity of which 700 MLD will be international.” he said.
“There are certainly strong prospects ahead that Ranhill is well-poised to capitalise on, particularly given the global push towards clean water and clean energy. For the environment sector in Malaysia, we will continue to play a significant role in the development of Johor’s utilities infrastructure. The renewal of SAJ Ranhill Sdn Bhd (SAJR) license is testament to the excellent track record we have set in Johor in providing efficient and affordable source-to-tap services. At a loss of only 0.017MLD per kilometre (km), Johor has the lowest NRW per km of pipe length in the country.” he added.
The Group has also inked a memorandum of understanding with Indah Water Konsortium Sdn Bhd to conduct a joint review of the Joint Billing Exercise with the intention to pursue the integration of water and sewerage services in Johor, in line with the objective and aspiration of the Water Services Industry Act 2006.
Apart from operating and managing water supply services, the Group also plays a key role in undertaking non-revenue water (NRW) reduction projects. Since 2005, it has saved more than 500 MLD of treated water in six states in Malaysia as well as Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“In regional markets, we are focused on expanding our water and waste water treatment operations in Thailand, particularly in industrial parks, as well as in China where we have already earmarked pursuits and aim to secure new projects. We are also exploring other markets in the region which have immense untapped potential, especially as governments scale up efforts to develop sustainable water supply and waste water treatment systems.” said Hamdan.
Meanwhile, in the power sector, Ranhill remains the largest independent power producer in Sabah, with two power plants which utilise combined-cycle gas turbines, delivering clean energy. To meet the growing demand for electricity in Sabah, together with a strategic partner, currently in the final phase of negotiations involving a 300MW Combined Cycle Power Plant in Sandakan. In addition, Ranhill have acquired a 26.7% stake in Tawau Green Energy, with the aim of developing a 37 MW geothermal power plant in Tawau, Sabah.
“We are also pursuing opportunities through proposals with reputable consortia in the Indo-China area with majority participating interest in expanding our power generation footprint. Looking ahead, we are confident that with these strategic plans in place and equipped with our strong capabilities and expertise, we are well-positioned to achieve greater growth over the long term”. he said.
“As testament to our core philosophy of forging sustainable growth, we continue to make progress in our sustainability journey by addressing key materiality matters, while being committed to ensuring that our business presence and activities reduce or eliminate negative impact across economic, environmental and social parameters,” concluded Tan Sri Hamdan.
