KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 23): Sports Toto Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2023 (4QFY2023) increased 34.33% to RM62.35 million from RM46.41 million a year ago, driven by better performance by its luxury car dealer HR Owen plc.

Quarterly revenue grew 10.68% to RM1.62 billion from RM1.46 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share improved to 4.63 sen from 3.46 sen, the numbers forecast operator’s (NFO) bourse filing on Wednesday (Aug 23) showed.

Sports Toto has declared a fourth interim dividend of 2.5 sen, bringing the total payout to nine sen for the financial year ended June 30, 2023 (FY2023) — versus 8.7 sen in FY2022 — to be paid on Oct 20.

For the full year of FY2023, Sports Toto’s net profit rose 37.94% to RM221.92 million from RM160.89 million in FY2022, as revenue was up 16.64% to RM6.1 billion from RM5.23 billion a year ago.

The improved performance was mainly attributed to improved sales from its NFO business STM Lottery Sdn Bhd and a higher share from its associated companies’ profits, according to its statement.

Moving forward, Sports Toto is cautiously optimistic about the prospects of its NFO business in Malaysia, while anticipating that per draw sales will continue to grow, driven by more robust consumer spending, easing inflation rates and positive momentum in the labour market.

“The management remains vigilant in mitigating potential local political risks and will closely monitor the financial impact of global and local political and economic developments, particularly in the countries where the group has operations.

"The directors are confident that the group's businesses, particularly the resilient NFO business, will remain encouraging and steadfast," it said.

The group also expects to maintain its lead in terms of market share in the NFO business for the financial year ending June 30, 2024 (FYE2024), barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Shares in Sports Toto finished three sen or 2.01% higher to RM1.52 on Wednesday, valuing the group at RM2.05 billion.