KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 22): Pharmaniaga Bhd shares fell 5.80% this morning after its fourth quarter net profit plunged 80% to RM4.44 million, from RM21.7 million a year ago, mainly due to lower demand coupled with higher finance costs.

At 9.40am, Pharmaniaga lost 16 sen to RM2.60 with 251,000 shares traded.

Revenue was also lower by 3% at RM596.64 million compared with RM613.2 million a year ago.

The group declared a fourth interim dividend of two sen per share, lower than the six sen declared in the previous year. It will be paid on April 10, 2019.

Full-year net profit also came in lower as a result, falling 21% to RM42.47 million from RM53.82 million in the previous year, though revenue rose slightly by 3% to RM2.38 billion from RM2.32 billion.