KUALA LUMPUR: State asset manager Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) has announced an income distribution of 7.5 sen per unit and a bonus of one sen per unit for Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2014.

 “The income distribution will involve a total payout of RM10.16 billion, which is a 10.8% increase compared with the RM675.93 million paid out last year. The payment will benefit 8.6 million unit holders, who currently hold a total of 137.07 billion units of ASB,” PNB president and group chief executive officer Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman told a media briefing yesterday.

According to Hamad Kama Piah, this year’s income distribution for ASB is 0.2 point lower than last year’s, which was at 7.7 sen per unit. But he stressed that the total payout had breached the RM10 billion mark, the highest ever announced.

“We have the capacity to pay a dividend of 10 sen per unit, but we are being prudent and only paying 7.5 sen per unit this year. The balance of 2.5 sen will be brought forward next year to enhance our investment capabilities,” he explained.

As at Tuesday, PNB estimated that ASB attained a gross income of RM10.55 billion, with dividend income from investee companies contributing RM4.64 billion or 44% to the overall gross income.

Meanwhile, profit from the sale of shares contributed RM4.23 billion or 40.1% of the gross income and the balance of RM1.68 billion or 15.9% was derived from other income.

“Overall, ASB performed satisfactorily despite the falling equity market. As at Dec 16 (Tuesday), the FBM KLCI fell by 10.3% to 1,673.94 points from 1,866.96 points previously, following [the] continuing drop in global crude oil prices,” said Hamad Kama Piah.

ASB is a fixed-price equity income fund launched on Jan 2, 1990, for bumiputeras aged six months and above.

The fund, which generates competitive returns while ensuring capital preservation at the minimal risk tolerance level, is managed by Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNB.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 19, 2014.