KUALA LUMPUR: Bright Packaging Industry Bhd, which saw the removal of four of its six directors, including its then managing director Wong See Yaw, last year has plunged into the red in the fourth quarter ended Aug 31 of financial year 2014 (4QFY14). Losses amounted to RM3.85 million compared with RM2.98 million profit in 4QFY13.

The group attributed this weakened financial performance to “lower sales orders”, which saw its revenue for the quarter under review fall 62.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM7.79 million from RM20.83 million; its 4QFY14 earnings per share (EPS) has also turned into a loss of 2.86 sen per share, down 141.56% y-o-y from 6.88 sen.

“The lower turnover was due to [the] decrease in overseas’ customers’ orders from [the] tobacco industry,” said the packaging company in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

For the cumulative 12-month period (FY14), net profit fell 76% y-o-y to RM1.67 million from RM7.03 million, while revenue was also lower at RM34.15 million, down 34.6% from RM52.2 million in FY13. EPS for FY14 fell 89.35% from 16.24 sen to 1.73 sen.

Bright Packaging’s latest quarterly results seem to indicate that the company’s reversal of fortunes came after it went through a fierce boardroom tussle last year.

 To recap, politician Datuk Wira Syed Ali Abbas Alhabshee had led three other shareholders — Ang Lay Chieng, Tee Wee Keat and Lye Jun Fei — to requisition an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in February last year to remove Wong, executive director Yap Kok Eng and independent non-executive directors Wong Siew Yoong and Yeap Cheng Chuan.

After successfully removing Wong See Yaw and his associates, the quartet led by Syed Ali  Abbas then recommended themselves to the board as directors, claiming that they could do a better job of managing the company although minority shareholders had some misgivings as the new directors had no experience in the packaging sector.

Today, Syed Ali is chairman while Lye and Tee are serving as independent non-executive directors. Ang has since resigned from her position as executive director in March 2014, according to the company’s filings. However, she initiated a lawsuit against the company in August, alleging that her signature on the resignation letter and the company’s financial statements for FY13 was forged.

Meanwhile, the Wongs, who used to hold the largest stake in Bright Packaging by virtue of their interest in Demi Maju Sdn Bhd, had disposed of their entire 30.58% stake by Dec 2013 and ceased to be shareholders in the company.


This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 30, 2014.