KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 15): Malaysia Smelting Corporation Bhd (KL:MSC) has boosted its dividend payout to 24 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2024 (FY2024), comprising a special dividend of 17 sen per share and an interim dividend of seven sen per share.

This is the tin miner and metal producer's highest dividend since FY2011, when it paid out 30 sen per share.

The dividend payout totalled RM100.8 million, consisting of RM71.4 million for the special dividend and RM29.4 million for the interim dividend, according to the company's bourse filing on Friday.

The company had cash, bank balances and deposits of RM221.05 million as at Sept 30, 2024. Its borrowings — all short term — stood at RM408.25 million.

MSC posted a 20.88% increase in net profit to RM14.29 million for the third quarter (3QFY2024), from RM11.82 million a year earlier. It attributed the better earnings to increased sales of refined tin and higher average tin prices, which rose to RM141,500 per tonne, from RM123,800 previously.

Earnings per share rose to 3.4 sen from 2.8 sen in 3QFY2023.

Quarterly revenue grew 29.13% year-on-year to RM470.05 million from RM364.02 million.

For the first nine months of FY2024, MSC's net profit fell 34.93% to RM49.25 million, from RM75.68 million a year ago, while cumulative revenue increased 20.58% to RM1.24 billion from RM1.03 billion.

The company said the lower profit was due to its tin smelting division registering a lower net profit of RM4.3 million, compared to RM38.2 million previously.

The tin smelting division's earnings were impacted by lower incoming feed for smelting, reduced sales of refined tin from processed tin intermediates and foreign exchange losses. The division was also affected by foreign exchange losses resulting from the ringgit’s appreciation against the US dollar in August and September.

“The recent conclusion of the US 2024 presidential election and the strengthening of the US dollar against the ringgit provide a more stable backdrop for our operations,” MSC group chief executive officer Patrick Yong said in a statement.

He said MSC is committed to the phased decommissioning of the old smelting plant at Butterworth, which is on track for full closure by 2025.

“We expect to benefit from an approximate 30% in cost savings from the planned closure and from the efficient top submerged lance furnace technology in the Pulau Indah smelting facility, which will lower operational and manpower costs, and reduce our overall carbon footprint,” Yong said  

For the tin mining segment, Yong said MSC will continue to focus on improving and increasing its daily mining output and enhancing overall mining productivity. This includes expanding its mining activities and mine resources, adopting new cost-effective mining methodology and participating in new mining joint ventures.  

Shares in MSC settled four sen or 1.8% higher at RM2.26 on Friday, valuing the company at RM949 million.