The dividend was announced in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday. The proposed dividend is subject to shareholders’ approval, with entitlement and payment dates to be announced later.

The proposed payout is the highest since FY2011, when it awarded shareholders a total payout of 70 sen per share.

The group posted a profit of RM67.17 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022), a 60.92% jump from RM41.74 million in FY2021, marking its highest ever annual revenue and profit.

Revenue rose 12.56% to a high of RM2.17 billion from RM1.93 billion the previous year, owing to higher sales volume and selling prices in its fast-moving consumer products division in East Malaysia.

Harrisons is a sales, marketing, warehousing and distribution organisation in Malaysia, particularly in East Malaysia where it has been operating for over 100 years. It has worked with big names like Nestle for over 88 years, and Heineken for over 64 years.

“Selling and distribution expenses decreased by RM2.8 million or 12.73% in FY2022 mainly due to write-back of advertising and promotional provisions,” said Harrisons.

Lower allowance for impairment of trade receivables compared to FY2021 also helped boost its performance.

Cement sales at its building materials division also received a boost compared to FY2021, when operations were affected by Covid-19 lockdowns.

“The group will continue to build on the strength of our extensive comprehensive network of branches and skilled workforce to expand our business,” Harrisons said.

“Our new ERP (enterprise resource planning) system in Sabah having successfully gone live will help to improve operating efficiencies and monitor operation costs,” it added.

At the close of trade, Harrisons’ share price was up 1.21% or 11 sen, settling at RM9.20, giving it a market capitalisation of RM630.10 million.