KUALA LUMPUR (June 5): Swiss investment bank UBS Group AG has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of YTL Corp Bhd (KL:YTL) after a series of share disposals since February, which eventually led to its shareholding in the company going below the 5% threshold.
According to a Bursa Malaysia filing on Wednesday, UBS disposed of about 14.9 million shares in the company last Friday (May 31), after which it crossed below the 5% line. Based on May 31’s closing price of RM3.59, the block of shares could be worth RM53.40 million.
Prior to that, UBS’ shareholding in YTL stood at 5.25% as of April 18.
A quick check on Bursa Malaysia showed that UBS made at least five transactions since February to trim its stake in YTL.
The biggest chunk of disposal was on Feb 29 when UBS disposed of 57.82 million shares, or a 0.53% stake, worth about RM154.38 million based on YTL’s closing price on the day of the transaction.
UBS emerged as a substantial shareholder of the utilities-to-resorts conglomerate (YTL) with a 5.46% stake in June last year, after its merger with Credit Suisse Group AG following Credit Suisse’s collapse.
The bank’s shareholding in YTL had peaked in January this year, with 713.84 million shares or a 6.51% stake.
At Wednesday’s market close, YTL’s share price was unchanged at RM3.59, giving it a market capitalisation of RM39.69 billion.
The counter has climbed 86.98% year-to-date and 298.89% over the last 12 months.
Most recently, YTL on May 24 snapped consecutive days of rally, despite notching earnings growth in its third financial quarter ended March 31, 2024 (3QFY2024). YTL rallied to a record high of RM3.88 on May 23, but fell as much as 9% the next day.
YTL’s net profit for 3QFY2024 rose 19.8% to RM496.23 million from RM414.14 million a year earlier, despite revenue coming in slightly lower by 1.7% at RM7.21 billion, compared with RM7.33 billion previously. All of its business segments — construction, cement and building materials, property investment and development, management services and others, hotels, and utilities — reported higher earnings during the quarter.