LTAT declares 5% dividend payout for FY2023

 

The Armed Forces Fund Board has declared a dividend of 5% for two consecutive years now.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) has declared a dividend of 5% for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023 (FY2023), says defence minister Khaled Nordin.

The total payout to depositors this year will be RM485.08 million, higher than the 5% dividend declared for FY2022 of RM476.45 million.

This marks two consecutive years that LTAT has declared a dividend of 5%.

Making the announcement at the Royale Chulan hotel here, Khaled said the 2023 dividend was a positive development for LTAT, marking a “slowly recovering, sustainable and stable” trend.

The dividend rate has gradually increased over the years, from 2.5% in 2019 to 3.5% in 2020, 4.1% in 2021, and 5% in 2022.

Going forward, Khaled said the defence ministry and LTAT would focus on implementing strategies as outlined in the MAMPAN25 roadmap and explore new strategies for growth.

This includes restructuring its business model and shareholdings in various strategic companies.

In a media conference later, Khalid said LTAT would not have been able to declare the 5% dividend if its financial standing was as weak as some quarters have claimed.

“The accusations that LTAT had a financial crisis came about because some quarters didn’t refer to us (for information).

“The lesson is that in many matters, we have to refer to the responsible party. It’s easy to obtain information in this day and age, but we have to be careful about the accuracy of that information,” he said.

In February, the media reported the resignations of LTAT CEO Ahmad Nazim Abdul Rahman, chairman Raja Affandi Raja Noor and senior director of strategy Dayana Rogayah Omar.

The resignations sparked allegations of a crisis in LTAT and speculation about its financial situation.

Subsequently, LTAT announced former armed forces chief Azizan Ariffin as the new chairman and the full assumption of the CEO post by Ashraf Radzi.

Last month, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said it would hold proceedings on issues surrounding LTAT on June 20.

PAC chairman Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the committee was concerned about LTAT’s financial situation “due to its negative reserves” and raised questions over whether it was able to pay dividends to its contributors. - FMT