Masteel shareholders say no to dividend, yes to bonus shares

Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd's new rolling mill in Klang.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Steel Works (KL) Bhd (Masteel) shareholders on Thursday voted against the proposal for a dividend of 0.85 sen per share in respect of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 (FY16), despite the company returning to the black.

While they shot down the dividend proposal (97.535% of votes against) at the steel bar and steel billet maker’s AGM in Shah Alam, these shareholders supported a proposed 1-for-5 bonus issue that was tabled at the EGM held immediately after the AGM.

The bonus issue, which will be completed in the third quarter of this year, is expected to reduce the group’s net assets per share by 37 sen to RM1.89.

Masteel swung into a net loss of RM50.4mil in FY15 but turned around last year with a group net profit of RM21.43mil, thanks to better margin and lower foreign exchange loss.

The company did not propose any dividend for FY15 after having paid an annual dividend every year for a decade prior to that.

Masteel shares closed at RM1.16 on Thursday, down 4 sen from the previous day with 1.87 million shares changing hands.