KUALA LUMPUR (May 23): Sports Toto Bhd saw its net profit tumble 70.8% to RM23.22 million for the third quarter ended March 31, 2023 (3QFY2023) against RM79.56 million in the same quarter a year ago, mainly due to lesser number of draws and the higher prize payout.

Quarterly revenue also fell 4.2% to RM1.66 billion from RM1.73 billion.

“The higher revenue reported in the previous year corresponding quarter was attributable to the Toto Supreme 6/58 lotto game reaching a record accumulated jackpot prize,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday (May 23).

Apart from that, Sports Toto’s UK luxury auto retailing business H.R. Owen plc was hit by the unfavourable foreign exchange effect, resulting in an 86.3% drop in pre-tax profit to RM4.9 million from RM35.8 million.

“Used car sector profit margin softened in the current quarter from the exceptional profit level reported in the previous year corresponding quarter due to the new car supply constraints then. In addition, the company also faced challenges [from] the impact of continued inflationary costs pressures and higher finance costs arising from interest rate hike in the UK,” it noted.

Nonetheless, the group has declared a third interim dividend of two sen per share, amounting to a total of RM27 million.

For the cumulative nine-month period, Sports Toto’s net earnings expanded 38.6% to RM159.58 million from RM115.16 million in the same period last year, on the back of an 18.9% rise in revenue to RM4.48 billion from RM3.77 billion.

On prospects, the management said it is cautiously optimistic that the numbers forecast operator (NFO) business will continue to see improvement in per-draw sales growth, supported by stronger consumer spending, a rebound of tourism activities and better-than-expected labour market conditions.

“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the directors are confident that it will continue its lead in terms of market share in the NFO business for the remaining quarter of the financial year ending June 30, 2023,” it added.

Sports Toto’s share price closed unchanged at RM1.31, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.77 billion.