KUALA LUMPUR: Mara Incorporated Sdn. Bhd (Mara Inc.), a subsidiary of Mara Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (Mara Corp.) has clarified that its accumulated losses were partly from the purchase of assets abroad, particularly in Australia and the United Kingdom, between 2012 and 2014.

The Auditor General's report published yesterday flagged the accumulated losses suffered by Mara Incorporated Sdn Bhd (Mara Inc.), a subsidiary of Mara Corporation Sdn. Bhd. (Mara Corp.), amounting to RM286.30 million from 2012 to 2022.

Mara Director-General Datuk Sri Azhar Abdul Manaf said in this matter, all necessary actions have been taken, including legal aspects and follow-up actions by MARA and the company to resolve this issue," said Datuk Seri Azhar.

He added in September 2015, the Mara Council approved a rationalisation recovery plan for Mara Inc to ensure asset value increases year by year and to enhance corporate governance to reduce accumulated losses.

"This plan's implementation includes debt settlement and rationalisation of Mara Inc.'s overseas asset operations, which have now begun to show results, with those assets now debt-free from external parties.

"However, in 2020 and 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the performance of Mara Inc.'s assets. The value of these assets plummeted and became the biggest contributor to the company's accumulated losses," he said in a statement today.

He also emphasised that starting from 2022 until now (June 2024), the performance of these assets has improved, with increased rental rates and occupancy rates exceeding 90 per cent.

These assets have generated good returns for Mara Inc. and positively impacted asset values post-pandemic.

Over the same three-year period, the value of Mara Inc.'s property investments increased by almost 30 percent, from RM170 million to RM215 million, while financial performance also showed a positive trend, recording post-tax profits for 2022, 2023, and up to May 2024.

This reduced the accumulated losses by RM14.06 million or 5 per cent of the total accumulated losses in 2022 and enabled Mara Inc. to pay dividends to Mara Corp.

The Mara Council and Mara management are highly committed and dedicated today to ensuring that all aspects of corporate governance and financial management of the company are at the highest level to prevent any leakages, deviations, misappropriations, and wastage involving public funds entrusted to them.-ends-

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/07/1072724/mara-incs-losses-were-partly-purchase-overseas-assets-between