Berjaya Sports Toto net profit rises

BERJAYA Sports Toto Bhd (BToto) yesterday reported a 29.1 per cent jump in net profit to RM95.1 million for the second quarter ended October 31 2005 from RM73.7 million in the previous year's corresponding quarter.
The higher net profit was attributed to its subsidiary Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd having a lower prize payout.

Group revenue for the second quarter increased by 1.8 per cent to RM655 million from RM643.1 million despite Sports Toto having one draw less than the previous corresponding quarter.

This was attributed to the increased sales of the 4-digit game and one-month contribution from the sales of the newly-launched 4-digit I-Perm game in late September 2005.

For the six-month period, BToto's pre-tax profit rose by 22.6 per cent to RM295.1 million while its revenue rose by 7.5 per cent to RM1.37 billion when compared to the previous corresponding period.

BToto is declaring a second interim gross dividend of 12.5 sen per share. This will bring the total gross dividend distribution of 25 sen per share or a distribution of RM226.7 million for the 6-month period ended October 31 2005.