PETALING JAYA: AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd has recorded another profitable year with a net profit of RM365.42mil for the financial year ended Feb 28, 2022 (FY22), up 56.2% compared with its net profit of RM233.96mil last year.

       This is reflected in the increase of the financial service provider’s earnings per share to 139.17 sen for FY22 from 87.67 sen last year.

       The net profit was contributed by the higher transaction volume and the improved collection.

       The company’s transaction and financing volume for the final quarter of FY22 (Q4) registered an increase of 15.8% to RM1.46bil compared with RM1.26bil in the previous corresponding quarter. On a year-on-year basis, this increased by 12.8% to RM4.77bil for FY22 compared with RM4.23bil in FY21.

       However, the company’s revenue for Q4 as well as FY22 decreased by 10.7% and 2.4% to RM362.97mil and RM1.52bil, respectively compared to the RM406.35mil revenue for Q4 of FY21 and RM1.56bil for FY21.

       The company believes this was due to the lower interest income recorded from the lower average financing receivables base.

       In addition, the company recorded a 79.4% fall in its net profit of RM23.38mil for the final quarter of FY22 compared with RM113.72mil in the previous corresponding quarter, which is attributable to the higher allowance for impairment losses on financing receivables.

       “The performance for the quarter was also partly impacted by the surge of the more contagious Omicron Covid-19 variant which caused a sharp rise in Covid-19 inflection among the public and also staff,” it said in a statement.

       The board of the company has recommended a final single-tier dividend of 15 sen per share and a special single-tier dividend of five sen per share in respect of FY22, amounting to RM38.30mil and RM12.77mil respectively, totalling RM51.06mil. This is to be paid on July 21, 2022 but subject to the approval of shareholders at the forthcoming AGM.

       “Total dividend payable for FY22 amounted to 48.50 sen with a payout ratio of 33.9%,” it added.

       The company noted that it will remain vigilant in assessing the inherent credit risks in its financing portfolios, with proactive attention focused on the enhancement of asset quality, prudent cost management and improvement in financial and operational efficiencies by leveraging on its positive business fundamentals.

       “The company is committed to building on its business sustainability and growth agenda and will further continue enhancing its information technology capabilities to drive the digitalisation of its operations,” it said.