KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 28): Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) rose 2.10% in early trade today after its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2016 (4QFY2016) jumped 7 times to RM188.1 million from RM26.8 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago, mainly due to the disposal of assets.

At 9.11am, MRCB added 3 sen to RM1.46 with 892,700 shares traded.

MRCB recognised a gain of RM144.9 million from the sale of Menara Shell, and RM56.1 million from the sale of a leasehold land to Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd during the quarter.

Correspondingly, quarterly revenue grew 166% to RM1.03 billion from RM388.2 million previously.

The directors recommended a first and final single tier dividend of 2.75 sen per share for FY2016, compared to 2.5 sen in FY2016.

Full FY2016 net profit, however, fell 19% to RM267.4 million from RM330.4 million in FY2015.

Though revenue gained 42% to RM2.41 billion — its highest in 10 years — from RM1.7 billion, operating expenses grew almost in tandem to RM2.17 billion from RM1.54 billion. Income tax expense also ballooned to RM73.53 million from RM6.08 million. — theedgemarkets.com

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