KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 31): Lembaga Tabung Haji has emerged as a substantial shareholder of optical retail chain operator Focus Point Holdings Bhd (KL:FOCUSP).

The pilgrimage fund crossed the substantial shareholder threshold following the purchase of 250,000 shares or a 0.05% stake on Tuesday, according to Focus Point’s bourse filing on Friday.

The company's total stake in Focus Point now stands at 5.02% or 23.18 million shares.

Besides Tabung Haji, Focus Point’s other substantial shareholders include Focus Point president and CEO Datuk Liaw Choon Liang with a 50.99% stake and Perbadanan Nasional Bhd with 8.44%.

Focus Point is trading at a trailing price-to-earnings ratio (PER) of 11.1 times versus its peer Optimax Holdings Bhd’s (KL:OPTIMAX) 24.2 times, according to AskEdge data.

For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2024, Focus Point’s net profit rose 26.8% to RM8.12 million, from RM6.4 million in the same period a year earlier, as revenue increased 8.7% to RM70.17 million from RM64.52 million.

The higher earnings was accompanied by a higher dividend of 1.75 sen, paid on Dec 27 last year.

The total dividend payout for the nine-month period stood at 3.5 sen, versus three sen in the same period a year earlier.

Shares in Focus Point ended half a sen or 0.61% higher at 83 sen, valuing the company at RM381.15 million.