KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 5): Guan Chong Bhd, which produces cocoa-derived food ingredients, has announced a first interim dividend of 1.5 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017 (FY17).

The dividend is payable on Oct 13, with the ex-date fixed on Sept 15.

For the second quarter of FY17, the group's net profit more than doubled to RM22.88 million from RM10.66 million last year, mainly due to lower cocoa bean prices and higher net gain on foreign exchange.

Revenue, however, fell 17% to RM482.3 million in 2QFY17 from RM583.39 million in 2QFY16.

For its cumulative first half (1HFY17), net profit grew 18% to RM28.64 million from RM24.36 million in the corresponding period last year, though revenue dropped 5% to RM1.11 billion from RM1.17 billion.

Guan Chong's shares closed down one sen or 0.67% at RM1.49 today for a market capitalisation of RM712.09 million.