KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 5): Deleum Bhd (KL:DELEUM) has emerged as the top winner of The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club Corporate Awards 2025, which celebrates the achievements of public listed companies with a market capitalisation of under RM1 billion in terms of earnings growth, return on equity (ROE) and return to shareholders.

The oil and gas services group was named Centurion of The Year at the awards’ gala dinner on Tuesday (Aug 5). This honour is reserved for the best overall performer, among 519 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia that met the market cap criteria to be part of the Centurion Club by the end-March cut-off date this year.

Deleum was also named winner of the Highest Growth in Profit After Tax Over Three Years and Highest Return to Shareholders Over Three Years in the energy sector, giving the group a triple win for the year. No stranger to The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club Corporate Awards, which is now in its fifth year after a two-year break due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Deleum has bagged a total of 10 trophies since the awards’ inaugural edition in 2019.

Deleum group chief executive officer Ramanrao Abdullah gave a double thumbs-up to his team after Deleum was named the biggest winner of the night. “It’s passion, and hard work, with integrity; it’s believing in what we do, that’s what delivered the results. And I’m a results-driven guy. And we make sure our employees are taken care of, besides our shareholders. We balance that, and we have a strong board, that really helps,” he told The Edge.

Besides Centurion of The Year, there were 36 sectoral awards, three each for 12 sectors, for profit after tax growth, return on equity, and return to shareholders over the last three years. A total of 29 companies took home awards this year, including Deleum (see table).

KIP Real Estate Investment Trust (KL:KIPREIT) was the other hat-trick scorer of the night. It made a clean sweep in the REIT sector. Other notable winners were Inta Bina Group Bhd (KL:INTA) and PBA Holdings Bhd (KL:PBA), who took home two awards each for their respective sectors of construction, and telecommunication, media and utilities.

The Edge Media Group publisher and group CEO Datuk Ho Kay Tat noted that the number of companies who qualified as Centurion Club members — at 519 this year — is a record high since the awards' inception, a testament to the robust growth and resilience of Corporate Malaysia. “Collectively, their market cap totalled RM177.69 billion. In 2019, we started with 423 Centurion Club members, with a collective market cap of RM133.3 billion,” Ho said.

Congratulating the winners, he said their achievements also serve as an inspiration for the broader business community, and emphasised the awards’ objective: to shine a spotlight on dynamic under RM1 billion companies, many of whom are little-known gems. “By highlighting them, we hope to inspire them to scale new heights, strive for greater efficiency, and grow more sustainably.”

Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who graced the event at its inaugural edition in 2019 as the group chief executive officer of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (KL:CIMB), returned as guest of honour this year.

“To all Centurions, old and new, current and future, tonight is your night. For the returnees, congratulations on your consistent membership of the Centurion Club. For the listed companies who are here for the first time, well done and, on behalf of The Edge, welcome to the Club. You can be proud of your achievements, as you bask in your well-deserved recognition tonight. This is not only a celebration of your commitment to the spirit of your Malaysian entrepreneurship, but also an affirmation of what Malaysia has to offer in terms of investible companies via its capital markets,” the minister said.

CIMB also returned as the main sponsor of the Centurion Club awards this year, with group CEO Novan Amirudin also joining the celebrations. “CIMB's unwavering support since 2019 has been instrumental in the success and continuity of these awards. Thank you, to Novan and the CIMB team,” Ho said.

As of the cut-off date for the Centurion Club awards this year, which fell on March 28, 519 companies qualified as members of the Centurion Club, with a market cap of at least RM100 million but less than RM1 billion.

Besides market cap, those eligible to be considered for the Centurion Club awards must have been listed for at least four years as of the cut-off date. They must also not be suspended or be under Bursa's watch list, and must not be delisted before the date of the awards. To be considered for highest ROE and PAT growth, the company must have been profitable every year during the evaluation period, which spans 2021 to 2024 for this year’s awards.

Centurion of The Year is determined by evaluating companies’ overall weighted scores in terms of: return to shareholders (30% weightage); PAT growth (40%); and ROE (30%) over the last three years.

A special pullout featuring the complete list of Centurion Club members and award winners will be published in The Edge Malaysia weekly.