KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd's net profit slid about 1% in its second quarter ended Oct 31, 2017 (2QFY18) to RM61.73 million from RM62.15 million a year ago, dragged mainly by lower contribution from its units HR Owen Plc and International Lottery Totalizator Systems, Inc (ILTS).

Quarterly revenue retreated 5% year-on-year to RM1.38 billion from RM1.45 billion, its Bursa Malaysia filing today showed.

It declared a second interim dividend of four sen per share in respect of FY18, payable on Feb 13, which brings its year-to-date (YTD) paid and declared payout to 8 sen, which is the same in the corresponding YTD period last year.

The company said HR Owen recorded lower earnings due to a drop in sales from new and used cars during the quarter, as a result of softening demand in the UK car market and the product life cycle of car models available for sale.

Additionally, the recognition of substantial project contract sales in 2QFY17 caused ILTS to register a drop in revenue and pre-tax profit of 83.7% and 96.6% respectively, for the current quarter under review.

Its principal subsidiary, Sports Toto, meanwhile, registered higher revenue and pre-tax profit of 4% and 20% respectively in 2QFY18 compared with 2QFY17. The increase in revenue was mainly due to strong sales from high jackpot in the Grand Toto 6/63 game, which recorded its highest jackpot ever of RM69.6 million in September 2017. The higher pre-tax profit was mainly because 2QFY17 had registered higher prize payout and operating expenses.

For the first six months of FY18, Berjaya Sports Toto posted a net profit of RM136.04 million, up about 13% y-o-y from RM120.89 million, as revenue slid 1% to RM2.86 billion from RM2.89 billion.

The company said the board does not foresee any substantial change in the business environment in which its businesses operate for the remaining quarters of FY18, and remains confident that it will continue to maintain its market share in the number forecast operation (NFO) segment.

“Our core NFO business, undertaken by Sports Toto, continues to be adversely impacted by rampant illegal gaming activities as well as weak consumer spending and sentiments,” said Berjaya Sports Toto.

Shares in Berjaya Sports Toto closed two sen or 0.87% lower at RM2.28 today for a market capitalisation of RM3.07 billion. Over the past 12-months, the stock has slipped 21.43% from RM2.90.