KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 3): Construction and property development company Ageson Bhd's indirect wholly-owned subsidiary Ageson Net Sdn Bhd has been appointed by Koperasi Belia Nasional Bhd (Kobena) to manage the business operation of the latter’s 4,000 units of vending machines and/or retail refrigerators that are integrated with the Internet-of-Things system and solutions.
Ageson said both companies are targeting to achieve revenue of RM2.3 billion per year from the sale of products from the vending machines, of which Ageson Net will be entitled to 5% of the targeted revenue or approximately RM115 million per year.
The latest memorandum of understanding (MOU) follows an earlier one signed last Friday (Sept 30) between Ageson Retails Sdn Bhd, another indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Ageson, and Kobena to sell the 4,000 units of vending machines and/or retail fridges.
In a bourse filing on Monday, Ageson said Ageson Net had entered into an MOU with Kobena to appoint Ageson Net as the operator of the proposed business operation.
Under the MOU, Ageson Net will manage the operation of the smart vending machines, including but not limited to managing the retail products to be sold in the machines, and the network integrated in the machines, and to secure and identify new suitable locations to instal and operate the machines.
Kobena is a conglomerate of cooperatives and has some 37,000 members throughout Malaysia.
"The MOU demonstrates the board of directors’ initiative in exploring new business opportunities to raise value for its shareholders. The entry of the MOU forms a basis of commitment to the parties to create a mutual understanding, and also pave a way for further discussion between the parties prior to the signing of any definitive agreement to effectuate the appointment," said Ageson.
The MOU is effective for six months. "A definitive agreement and/or appointment letter to formalise the appointment is envisioned to be executed by the parties within the effective period. The MOU may be extended for a further period as may be agreed in writing by the two parties," said Ageson.
It added that the MOU is not expected to have any material effect on the group's net assets, earnings per share and gearing, but it expects that the appointment will contribute positively to the future financial performance of the group.
In January, Ageson scrapped plans to venture into the sand trading business, citing “high shipping costs” caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
At 4.25pm on Monday, Ageson shares were down half a sen or 1.52% at 32 sen, valuing the group at RM99.96 million.