Gamuda declares 38 sen special interim dividend

• The special dividend’s ex-date is Dec 13, with entitlement on Dec 14, according to the group’s filing on Tuesday (Nov 22). 

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 22): Gamuda Bhd has announced a special interim dividend of 38 sen per share, just over a month after the engineering, property and infrastructure company successfully completed its divestment of four of its highways to Amanat Lebuhraya Rakyat Bhd (ALR).

The special dividend’s ex-date is Dec 13, with entitlement on Dec 14, according to the group’s filing on Tuesday (Nov 22). 

Shares of Gamuda settled 0.82% higher at RM3.68, giving it a market capitalisation of RM9.54 billion. Year-to-date, the stock has risen 26.9%. 

Last month, ALR said it has completed the acquisition of four highway concessionaires, following its issuance of sustainable sukuk murubahah amounting to RM5.5 billion in nominal value.

The four highway toll concessionaires are Lingkaran Trans Kota Sdn Bhd (Litrak), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat Sdn Bhd (SPRINT), Kesas Sdn Bhd (Kesas) and Syarikat Mengurus Air Banjir dan Terowong Sdn Bhd (SMART).

News of Gamuda’s successfully-restructured highway concession on Oct 13 came on the same day as an announcement by caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob that the government has agreed with the proposal to restructure four highway toll concession companies under Prolintas to reduce the toll rates of the highways involved.

Additionally, Gamuda also then announced that a cumulative RM4.26 billion was received by the relevant concession companies for the disposals of their securities in Kesas, Sprint and Litrak (RM1.19 billion, RM863 million and RM2.21 billion respectively).

Kesas was 70%-owned by Gamuda, while the remaining 30% was held by Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS). SMART was a 50:50 joint venture between MMC Corp Bhd and Gamuda.

As for SPRINT, Litrak held a 50% equity interest in the highway concessionaire, while Gamuda held 30% and KPS 20%. Meanwhile, the Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) was wholly-owned by Litrak, which in turn is 42.8% controlled by Gamuda. Hence, Gamuda’s effective interest in SPRINT was 51.4%.