Magnum posts RM20 mil net profit for 3Q, declares one sen interim dividend

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24): Magnum Bhd posted a net profit of RM20.07 million or 1.39 sen per share for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), compared with RM29.91 million net loss or 2.08 sen per share, underpinned by strong contributions from its gaming division.

Revenue jumped by seven-fold to RM509.02 million — its highest quarterly revenue since 4QFY2020's RM527.4 million — from RM66.18 million recorded for the same period a year ago.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Thursday (Nov 24), the group declared a third interim single-tier dividend of one sen, to be payable on Dec 30, with Dec 15 as the ex-date and Dec 16 as the entitlement date.

Magnum's gaming sales for the current quarter at RM509 million were higher than the previous year's corresponding quarter by RM443 million or 671%.

The lower sales recorded last year were due to the nationwide total lockdown with effect from June 1, 2021 announced by the government which resulted in the cancellation of 37 draws.

For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2022 (9MFY2022), Magnum posted a RM63.13 million net profit compared with a RM20.34 million net loss as 9MFY2022 revenue surged 92.16% to RM1.49 billion from RM776.55 million.

Looking ahead, Magnum is cautiously optimistic that the group is on the right track towards full recovery in FY2023.

"On the back of an economy that was negatively impacted by inflationary pressures and rampant illegal gaming operators, the group has reported a set of financial results for [9MFY2022] that indicates that the business is in the process of recovery from the worst of Covid-19 pandemic.

"Going forward, arising from the ongoing digital transformation initiatives that the group is undertaking into 2023, we are seeing some positive trends emerging that point to a sustainable recovery in our sales in the coming quarters," it said.

Magnum's share price settled 12 sen or 9.3% higher at RM1.41 on Thursday, bringing the group a market capitalisation of RM2.03 billion.