PLUS dividend may come early

PETALING JAYA: PLUS Expressways Bhd is considering paying out dividends earlier than the norm and may announce this at its upcoming AGM, sources said.

According to the sources, the move is possibly aimed at pacifying investors who have had a relatively long wait for returns from the pending sale of the company's assets to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Khazanah Nasional Bhd.

The amount paid for this year's dividends will be deducted from the final price that both EPF and Khazanah will pay PLUS for buying the latter's assets.

The RM23bil sale, which works out to RM4.60 per PLUS share, received shareholders' nod in February, about four months after it was announced.
A file photo shows a section of the North-South Expressway near Gopeng, Perak. PLUS generated cash from operating activities totalling RM2.24bil last year.

Proceeds from the sale would be paid to shareholders in early September, and PLUS, which operates the North-South Expressway, is likely to be de-listed by the end of the same month.

PLUS normally paid its interim dividends in the third quarter of every year and it was likely that this year's interim dividends would be paid out sooner as the company had the cash to do so, the sources said.

For the 12 months to Dec 31, 2010, the company generated cash from operating activities totalling RM2.24bil, with cash and cash equivalents balance stood at RM3.48bil.

PLUS has dividend yields of 4% to 6% and a 75% dividend payout ratio policy.

The deal to sell PLUS to EPF and Khazanah received overwhelming response from minority shareholders at an EGM in February.

PLUS' major shareholders, who are also the offerors in the deal UEM Group, its parent Khazanah, and EPF abstained from voting for the deal at the EGM.

EPF holds a 12.3% stake in PLUS while UEM Group, together with its parent Khazanah, has 55.4%.

The takeover of assets and liabilities of listed companies has been a particularly popular route used for privatisation proposals by major shareholders in the past six months.

Apart from PLUS, other companies which took this route include Sunway Holdings Bhd and Sunway City Bhd, Emivest Bhd, Leong Hup Holdings Bhd and Asia Pacific Land Bhd.

PLUS shares closed 1 sen lower yesterday at RM4.46. The company declined comment for this article.

source:thestar