KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 24): Eco World International Bhd (EWI) declared a first tranche dividend amounting to RM792 million, or 33 sen per share, for the financial year ending Oct 31, 2023 (FY2023), payable on Sept 23. 
 
In a statement on Thursday (Aug 24), EWI said the declaration of the first interim dividend follows completion of the reduction of the issued share capital, which was announced on Aug 3. 
 
The company had then said that it was targeting to make a first tranche dividend distribution of at least RM300 million to shareholders, following completion of its capital reduction exercise. 
 
“The significantly higher amount of RM792 million achieved is attributable to the steady progress made to-date on the sale of completed stocks that has generated substantial cash for the company,” said president and chief executive officer Datuk Teow Leong Seng. 
 
He added that the group aims to work toward distributing more excess cash back to shareholders, after setting aside the necessary amounts for the group’s working capital requirements. 
 
EWI narrowed its net loss to RM4.56 million or 0.19 sen per share for the second quarter ended April 30, 2023 (2QFY2023), compared with RM67.35 million or 2.81 sen loss per share a year earlier (2QFY2022). 

Its 2QFY2023 net loss decreased from RM30.82 million in the immediate preceding quarter (1QFY2023), as revenue increased from RM22.37 million. 
 
The improvement was due to higher foreign exchange (forex) gain, as the British pound strengthened against the Malaysian ringgit, higher interest income following capital contribution repayments from the UK joint ventures, and lower finance costs due to the group’s progressive repayment of loans. 
 
In the previous year’s corresponding quarter, the group provided an impairment loss on the investment in its 75%-owned Ecoworld Ballymore, EWI informed Bursa Malaysia on June 21. 
 
For the nine-month period ended April 30 (9MFY2023), EWI trimmed its net loss to RM35.38 million, from RM82.01 million a year ago. 

EWI closed half sen or 0.79% higher to 64 sen on Thursday, valuing it at RM1.52 billion.