This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 11, 2019 - November 17, 2019

Corporations that have not only survived but flourished in the difficult economic environment of recent years deserve to be recognised. The Edge Media Group, together with banking outfit CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, property developer Matrix Concepts Holdings and Hublot (represented by The Hour Glass Sdn Bhd in Malaysia), is doing just that.

“The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club & Corporate Awards are aimed at discovering and turning the spotlight on smaller companies that match the multibillion-ringgit conglomerates in terms of performance,” says Datuk Ho Kay Tat, publisher and group CEO of The Edge Media Group.

CIMB is the latest to jointly support this exclusive initiative of The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club & Corporate Awards as presenter of the awards.

“We are pleased to be part of this inaugural effort by The Edge to recognise these companies that are commited to running their businesses well and have chalked up commendable growth in the past three years, but have hitherto remained under the radar. The Edge-CIMB collaboration could not have come at a more opportune time, particularly to spark more investor interest in these companies,” says CIMB group CEO Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz (picture).

“With CIMB’s support of The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club Corporate Awards, we hope to also reach out to and support these companies to further strenghten their capabilities and become more competitive, sustainable and resilient in today’s gig economy.”

The corporate awards will be presented to the country’s best-performing small and medium enterprises at a gala dinner on Nov 12. Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng will be the guest of honour.

The corporate awards are for Company of the Year and for three main categories across 12 sectors.

The categories are:

•    The Highest Returns to Shareholders Over Three Years

•    The Highest Growth in Profit After Tax Over Three Years

•    The Highest Return on Equity Over Three Years.

The 12 sectors are:

•    Construction

•    Consumer Products & Services

•    Energy

•    Financial Services

•    Healthcare

•    Industrial Products & Services

•    Plantation

•    Property

•    Real Estate Investment Trust

•    Technology

•    Telecommunications, Media & Utilities

•    Transport & Logistics

To be eligible for the corporate awards, a member of The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club & Corporate Awards must have been listed for at least four calendar years before the cut-off date of end-March of the current year as companies are evaluated on their financial performance over three years.

The methodology for the awards is both stringent and transparent and the results audited by Deloitte Malaysia.

Members eligible for the Highest Return on Equity over Three Years and Highest Growth in Profit After Tax over Three Years awards must have been profitable for every year of the evaluation period. For this year’s awards, the evaluation period was from FY2015 to FY2018.

Calculation of PAT growth is subject to a risk-weight factor component to recognise the importance of consistency in profit delivery throughout the evaluation period.

The Highest Returns to Shareholders award is calculated on total returns consisting of share price gains and dividends over a three-year period, subject to a share price multiplier. The cut-off date for this year was March 29.

The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club & Corporate Awards Company of the Year will be determined by an evaluation component and weightage to the overall score:

•    Returns to shareholders over three years: 30%

•    Growth in PAT over three years: 40%

•    Weighted return on equity over three years: 30%

To be a member of the elite The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club & Corporate Awards, a company must be listed on Bursa Malaysia as at March 31 of the current calendar year, should not be suspended or on the stock exchange’s watch list and must not be delisted prior to the date of the awards. It must have a market capitalisation of RM100 million to below RM1 billion.

Financial data used by The Edge to determine the member companies of The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club & Corporate Awards and winners for the awards is provided by Asia Analytica Data Sdn Bhd (formerly known as The Edge Markets Sdn Bhd).

The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club & Corporate Awards now has 423 members and its annual listing will be published by The Edge.

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