... we had successfully secured a novation of contracts from PETRONAS in February 2015, for the construction of five (5) new LNG vessels. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE For the financial year ended 31 December 2014, I am pleased to report that the MISC Group posted a profit before tax from continuing operations of RM2.4 billion on the back of revenue of RM9.3 billion. The lion share of the contributions was from our LNG, Off shor e and Pe t ro l eum t ank e r businesses. I am also very pleased to report that the health of the Group’s balance sheet has been fully restored through the various efforts we have undertaken in the last few years. At the end of the financial year ending 31 December 2014, cash balances stood at RM4.8 billion and our net-debt-toequity ratio improved to 0.14 from 0.22 in the previous year. The improvement in our balance sheet will certainly allow MISC to position itself to refocus on a more aggressive growth trajectory, a luxury the Group could not afford in the past few years due to the difficult operating environment faced by the global shipping industry. DIVIDEND While higher profits during the year, coupled with a revitalised balance sheet, undoubtedly supports a healthier dividend payment to our shareholders, the Group is also mindful of the need to allocate sufficient financial resources to support a renewed growth agenda for MISC. Therefore, the Board of Directors had taken great care in striking an optimum ba l ance be tween ma i nt a i n i ng a reasonable dividend pay-out that c omme n s u r a t e w i t h f i n a n c i a l performance of the Group while conserving sufficient internal resources for investment purposes. In view of this, two interim dividends have been declared and paid at 4 sen and 6 sen per share in September 2014 and March 2015 respectively. RM2.4b PROFIT BEFORETAX RM9.3b REVENUE ... charter extensions for the Puteri Class will further stamp MISC’s position... MISC BERHAD - Annual Report 2014 p 48 CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
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