Harun (fifth left) presenting the RM7 million dividend to Pengiran Hassanel, witnessed by Musa and Au.
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Energy Corporation Sdn Bhd ( SEC ) has declared an interim dividend of RM7 million to the State Government for the financial year ended 31st December 2015. With this latest dividend, the total gross dividends from SEC to the State Government to date is over RM183 million.
The dividend was presented to Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Datuk Pengiran Hassanel by the CEO of SEC, Dato Harun Ismail. This was witnessed by the Chief Minister cum Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman and the chairman of SEC, Datuk Au Kam Wah accompanied by the company’s board of directors.
Musa said SEC must continue to practise good governance in order to remain competitive, especially during these challenging economic times.
“I commend your good performance. However you must continue to raise the bar by practising prudent financial spending, transparency and accountability,” he said.
He also reminded SEC to be mindful of joint ventures and ensure they do not engage in lopsided deals.
“You must always protect the interest of the company first above everything else,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harun said that based on the pre-audited accounts, SEC and its group of companies are expected to achieve a profit before tax of about RM86 million for the 2015 financial year. The 2015 profit is lower than 2014 due to the uncertainties brought about by the downturn in global oil prices which affected Asian Supply Base Sdn Bhd mainly.
Harun added that against the State Government’s paid up capital of RM299.9 million, the accumulated profits over the years would have increased the shareholders’ funds to about RM880 million by end 2015.
While 2016 and 2017 are expected to be challenging in view of the continued global uncertainties, especially with respect to oil prices, Harun emphasised that SEC and its companies will remain focused on energy and the oil and gas sectors, areas which it has had long experience.
“SEC’s strong balance sheet allows us to continue organic growth in the area of natural gas reticulation. Plans are underway to deliver energy in the form of liquefied gas to an even broader of spectrum of consumers in Sabah. This is the next phase in the technology to be adopted by SEC after the introduction of the Virtual Compressed Natural Gas System in 2012. Liquefied gas will allow more consumers to benefit from cleaner and cheaper energy. This will assist more stakeholders in the business community in lowering their operational cost,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Sabah director of Audit Department, Zaaba bin Zainudin also paid a courtesy call on Musa at the Chief Minister’s office at the State Assembly building yesterday.
Zaaba briefed Musa on the proposed new office building for the State’s National Audit Department to be built at Jalan Tuaran.