Stay abreast with the latest happenings in Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad.

CMSB Corporate Representative Appointed to Kenanga Board

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Kuching (Sarawak), Tuesday, 14 December 2021 – Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMSB or the Group) is pleased to announce that Mr Choy Khai Choon, a corporate representative of CMSB, has been appointed to the Board of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad (Kenanga) as a Non-Independent Non-Executive Director on 13 December 2021.

Mr Choy is currently an Independent Non-Executive Chairman of Zurich Life Insurance Malaysia Berhad and Zurich General Insurance Malaysia Berhad. He is also the Senior Independent Non-Executive Director of Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Berhad, and an Independent Non-Executive Director of Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Berhad as well as MSM Malaysia Holdings Berhad and serves on the Board Committees of these companies.

In addition to serving as a public interest director of Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia, he is also a member of the Labuan Financial Services Authority as well as a Board member of Asian Banking School Sdn Bhd and Bond and Sukuk Information Platform Sdn Bhd, a non-profit information platform established to provide free public access to information on bonds and sukuk issued in Malaysia.

Bringing in over forty (40) years of extensive experience in the financial sector, he had served as the President / Chief Executive Officer of Cagamas Berhad for six (6) years before retiring in March 2012. Mr Choy also holds a Master in Business Administration from the Oklahoma City University in the U.S. and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is also a Fellow of the Certified Practicing Accountant, Australia and a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

With the appointment of Mr Choy as a CMSB representative, the Group is confident of strengthening its collaboration with Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad where it continues to remain as the single largest shareholder via an 18.76% equity stake.

CMS Registers PBT of RM202 million for 9M2021

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Kuching (Sarawak), Wednesday, 24 November 2021 – Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (“CMS” or “the Group”) announced today that it closed nine (9) months ended 30 September 2021 (“9M2021”) with profit before tax (“PBT”) of RM202.11 million, an increase by 169% as compared to RM75.24 million reported in the same period of the preceding year (“9M2020”). The increased profits were largely attributable to gains on disposal of Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad shares amounting to RM28.52 million, gain on disposal of land of RM12.74 million and improvements in associates’ and joint ventures’ performances by RM78.32 million.

The lockdown in mid-2021 has impacted the Group’s operations but with the resumption of economic activities post MCO 3.0, management is making every effort to execute catch-up strategies across all business divisions. The initial opening of the Malaysian economy remains challenging and at the same time, the Group is facing increased operational pressures due to supply and logistics constraints. Moreover, the performance of the coming quarters will depend on the speed of the progress of Malaysia’s National Recovery Plan (NRP).

The Group has achieved the following results over the 9 months ended 30 September 2021:

The Cement Division’s 9M2021 revenue improved by 5% to RM353.46 million as compared to RM336.74 million in 9M2020. PBT increased by 44% to RM61.65 million as compared to RM42.94 million from the preceding year. The increase in PBT is reflective of the lower costs of maintenance due to deferred works programme caused by the lockdown. The global interruption to shipping and logistics of raw materials continues to be challenging for the Division. Proactive measures have been undertaken to manage this issue and towards finding long-term solutions to manage this risk.

The Trading Division reported PBT of RM4.16 million, an increase of 68% in comparison to 9M2020’s PBT of RM2.47 million. The higher PBT was due to higher sales in water treatment chemicals, pipes and fittings to JKR.

The Road Maintenance Division reported lower revenue of RM80.83 million as compared to RM105.47 million in the corresponding period of 9M2020 due to slower progress from instructed works and road rehabilitation works. PBT contracted by 46% to RM7.26 million from RM13.41 million due to drop in gross margin and higher administrative expenses.

The Property Development Division’s revenue increased by 30% to RM68.96 million mainly due to higher sales in properties and improved revenue from lodges and hotel businesses. As a result, the 9M2021 PBT attributable to this Division increased to RM15.88 million from RM6.92 million the year before.

Strategic Investments share of profits from its associates increased to RM99.13 million in 9M2021, 122% higher compared to RM44.57 million in 9M2020.

In 9M2021, the share of results of joint ventures were RM22.22 million, contributed mainly by SEDC Resources Sdn Bhd (“SEDCR”) Group.

The Malaysian Phosphate Additives Sarawak (“MPAS”) project has not been progressing as scheduled due to technical and commissioning issues, the extent of which is being assessed and solutions being actively worked at. The Group continues to evaluate all options on the future direction of the MPAS project.

With the economic re-opening, the Group is operating strict standard operating procedures to safeguard the health of its people being the top priority. With this, the business divisions are not yet operating at optimal levels in 3Q2021 and this is expected to further improve in the coming months. The management is making every effort to bolster competitive edge and identify new business opportunities to achieve sustainable long-term growth.

CMSB Transforms Corporate Culture, Strengthens Governance, Risk Management

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Kuching (Sarawak), Wednesday, 24 November 2021 – Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (the Company or the Group) today unveiled plans to enhance corporate governance, management accountability and proactively raise its risk management capability following a review of financial and investment activities undertaken by its appointed Independent Financial Advisor.

The Company would also embark on a Human Capital Transformation Programme to build a culture of governance and growth across the Group to strengthen the accountability and integrity at all levels of Senior Management.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, the Company said key measures included:

  • Strengthening Risk Oversight at Board level on enterprise material risk and to provide updates on key projects on a timely manner so that the Board will be continuously appraised of such risk exposure;
  • Setting up of an Investment Committee chaired by the Group Managing Director to review and recommend all proposals and investments to the Board for information and approval as appropriate and timely;
  • Setting up an independent Group Risk Division to drive risk management throughout the Company; and
  • Strengthen accountability and integrity at all levels of senior management to further build a culture of governance and growth across the Group.

The Company has already taken initial steps toward this direction by bringing in several key leaders including Chief Risk Officer, Chief Technical Officer, Chief of Staff and Head of Compliance.

It expects to augment these initiatives with a Group-wide revamp of processes, procedures and controls to improve project bidding, monitoring of project costs and significantly improve project management.

The Company expressed confidence that it would drive higher returns for its business and investment activities, unlock shareholder values and would be able to deliver better results with these initiatives. The realignment of management structure to drive governance, transparency, accountability and to inculcate the culture of pro-active risk management is aimed at delivering value to all stakeholders.

CMSB Appoints General (R) Tan Sri Mohd Zahidi bin Haji Zainuddin as Group Chairman

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Kuching (Sarawak), Thursday, 30 September 2021 – Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad (CMSB) today announced the appointment of General (R) Dato’ Seri DiRaja Tan Sri (Dr.) Mohd Zahidi bin Haji Zainuddin as Group Chairman, taking over from Tan Sri Abdul Rashid bin Abdul Manaf who is retiring from the board to focus on his other business interests.

The Board of Directors of Cahya Mata Sarawak expressed their deep appreciation to Tan Sri Abdul Rashid for his leadership and contributions over the last three years and wished him the best in his future undertakings.

Tan Sri Mohd Zahidi, who was appointed to the Board on 9 August 2021, has been on several esteemed boards of many public and private companies. He currently also sits on the boards of Genting Plantations Berhad, Genting Malaysia Berhad, Bintang Capital Partners Berhad, One World Group Holdings Berhad, SOGO (K.L.) Department Store Sdn Bhd and Nishiin-Panmatex (M) Sdn Bhd.

He brings with him a wealth of corporate experience especially in the areas of governance and transparency. Aside from being Senior Independent Director of several boards, he also chaired several of the Board Committees including areas of Audit, Risk and Compensation.

Tan Sri Zahidi had a very impressive career including a six-year tenure as the Chief of Defence Forces in Malaysia. He holds a Masters in Science Degree in Defence and Strategic Studies and has completed a Program for Senior Executives in National and International Security at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in the United States. During his military career, he had extensive international experience in various peacekeeping missions and regional exercises around the globe.

In welcoming the new Group Chairman, the Board of Directors of Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad looks toward his strong leadership.

AL-FATIHAH

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AL-FATIHAH

We wish to inform that former Chairman of Utama Banking Group, previously a subsidiary of Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad, Dato’ Paduka Nik Hashim bin Nik Yusoff passed away today.

The late Dato’ Paduka Nik Hashim, 83, had been in the banking industry for more than 30 years. He was also on the Boards of Rashid Hussain Berhad, UBG Berhad and UBG Enterprise Berhad.

We extend our sincere condolences to Datin Paduka Dr Faridah binti Dato Abdullah and members of the family.

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