KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 21): CTOS Digital Bhd saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (4QFY21) fall slightly by 8.62% to RM11.78 million from RM12.89 million in the previous year due to higher administrative expenses.

Consequently, earnings per share dropped slightly to 0.5 sen from 0.7 sen previously.

In a Bursa Malaysia filing on Friday, the credit reporting agency said its quarterly revenue grew 12.5% to RM38.79 million against RM34.47 million in the same period last year as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) allowed free access to its Central Credit Reference Information System (CCRIS) database.

Meanwhile, the group also declared its third interim dividend of 0.33 sen per share, to be paid on Feb 25, 2022.

For the full year period ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY21), CTOS’ net profit was up nearly 10% to RM42.98 million from RM39.19 million in the previous year, underpinned by strong performance from its Malaysia’s operations and higher profit contribution from its International segment.

The annual net profit came in below analysts’ consensus forecast of RM52.7 million for FY21, according to Bloomberg.

Annual revenue went up by 15% to RM153.17 million from RM133.23 million in the previous year.

On a quarterly basis, the group’s net profit increased marginally by 0.94% from RM11.67 million registered in the immediate preceding quarter (3QFY21) while revenue inched higher by 0.59% from RM38.57 million posted in 3QFY21.

Moving forward, the group expects its subsidiaries and business segments to continue their growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2022.

“Our associate companies are expected to continue to perform according to expectations and the Group will continue to look for opportunities within the Asia Pacific region as well as within Malaysia for investment.

“Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the board is optimistic that the medium to long-term outlook for the group is positive with potential upside through expansion into new verticals,” it said.

Shares in CTOS Digital finished unchanged at RM1.75 on Friday, giving it a market capitalization of RM3.85 billion. The stock has gained 59% against its initial public offer price of RM1.10. It is currently trading at a forecast price-earnings ratio of 70 times based on Bloomberg data.