KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): Bursa Malaysia Securities has publicly reprimanded Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd over the company’s decision to withdraw its final dividend for the financial year ended Sept 30, 2021 (FY2021) two months after proposing it.
“Paragraph 8.26(1) of the Main LR (Main Market Listing Requirements) expressly states that once the dividend had been declared or proposed, a listed issuer must not make any subsequent alteration to the dividend entitlement,” the exchange operator said in a statement.
It added that it is the duty of company directors to maintain appropriate standards of responsibility and accountability in ensuring compliance of the Main LR.
Toyo’s directors at the time of the breach were Yusoff Daud, Song Kok Cheong, Chew Cheong Loong, Lim Soek Fun, Tham Kut Cheong, Chan Kee Eng, Song Hsiao May and Lim Guan Lee.
Toyo had announced the proposed final dividend of one sen per share, on Nov 30, 2021.
It said at the time that it had decided on the dividend despite the company posting a net loss of RM12.92 million for the fourth quarter of FY2021, as it still had sufficient retained earnings brought forward from previous financial years.
However, on Jan 31, 2022, Toyo announced the withdrawal of the dividend, citing insufficient retained earnings, which arose from certain adjustments made in its audited financial statements for the 15-month financial period ended Sept 30, 2021.
Toyo’s share price closed four sen or 3.15% higher at RM1.31 on Wednesday (March 8), giving the company a market capitalisation of RM154.19 million.