The biggest beneficiary is Eco World Development Group Bhd deputy chairman Leong Kok Wah, who holds the largest stake in the group.
Through Eco World Capital (International) Sdn Bhd and Sinarmas Harta Sdn Bhd, he owns 728.73 million shares or a 30.3% stake, entitling him to a RM240.48 million share of the total dividend.
Quek, through GLL EWI (HK) Ltd, a unit of Singapore-listed Guocoland Ltd, owns a 27% stake or 648 million shares, entitling him to RM213.84 million of the dividend payout.
Liew and his family, who jointly hold a 12.2% stake or 292.24 million shares, will snap up RM96.44 million of the dividend payout.
Group president and CEO Teow Leong Seng said the significantly higher dividend payout is attributed to the steady progress made to date on the sale of completed stocks that have generated substantial cash for the company.
“The group aims to work toward distributing more excess cash back to shareholders, after setting aside the necessary amount for the group’s working capital requirements,” he said in a statement.
Following the allocation to these three major shareholders, approximately RM241.24 million will remain for the remaining minority shareholders who collectively own a 30.5% stake.
The dividend announcement yesterday follows the completion of Eco World International’s capital reduction exercise on Aug 3.
It initially aimed at making a first tranche dividend distribution of at least RM300 million to shareholders, following the completion of its capital reduction exercise.
The group narrowed its net loss to RM4.56 million for the second quarter ended April 30 (Q2 FY2023) compared with RM67.35 million a year earlier.
The improvement is due to the higher foreign exchange gain as the British pound strengthened against the ringgit, higher interest income following capital contribution repayments from the UK joint ventures and lower finance costs due to its progressive repayment of loans.
News of the bumper dividend payout gave a boost to the group’s share price earlier today. In the morning session, it was among the five most active counters with 34.15 million shares changing hands, more than 23 times its average trading volume.
At 4.33pm, Eco World International’s shares were up by 6.5 sen or 10.2% at 70 sen, giving it a market capitalisation of RM1.69 billion.