28/12/2012 (The Star) -  Kulim (M) Bhd is confident of carving a new growth path in its palm oil and other non-core businesses once it exits the food and restaurant operations.

It has also declared a single-tier special dividend of 90.94 sen per share as QSR Brands Bhd and KFC Holdings (M) Bhd (KFCH) will soon be taken private.

Kulim has a 58.63% stake in QSR, which in turn owns 51% of KFCH. Shareholders of KFCH and QSR approved the acquisition by Triple Platform Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Massive Equity Sdn Bhd, of nearly all the business and undertakings of both companies at the EGMs on Nov 5 and 6, 2012.

“In turn, shareholders of Kulim will be receiving a special dividend of 90.94 sen per share, payable on Jan 25, 2013,” it said.

Massive Equity is a special-purpose vehicle owned by Johor Corp, the Employees' Provident Fund and CVC Capital Partners.

While plantation remained its main revenue generator, contributing more than 70% to its income, the company would leverage on its experience in the food and restaurant segment to look at possible ventures, be it strategic partnerships, mergers or takeovers, it said.

“The group would take a leaf from its ability to churn out stellar earnings from QSR and KFCH in recent years, to continue venturing into non-plantation assets, should good opportunities arise in future,” Kulim said in a statement.

The company said it was actively assessing prospective landbanks as it stuck to plantation activities as its main revenue generator over the long term.

“The group believes the fundamentals of the palm oil business are still very solid and expects the industry to steadily recover in the near term,” the statement said.

Its experience in the food and restaurant segment has been encouraging, as KFCH reported a staggering 84.2% increase in sales to RM2.8bil in 2011 from RM1.52bil in 2006 when Kulim took control over the fast-food chain.

“There are now 672 KFC restaurants under the QSR Group, with over 500 KFC restaurants in Malaysia and the remaining spreading over Singapore, Brunei, India and Cambodia,” it said.

The company also said the change in the status of New Britain Palm Oil Ltd (NBPOL) from subsidiary to associate would strengthen the group's balance sheet via a lower gearing.

“This signifies abundant opportunity for new expansion in the future,” it said.

The group has managed to increase the oil palm area of NBPOL by several folds from 18,000ha when Kulim took over in 1996 to 77,668ha currently, and revenue jumped from RM33.75mil to a whopping RM1.61bil for nine months in 2012.

In addition, the group has set a foundation in the agrofood segment, involving cattle rearing, and banana and pineapple cultivation.

“Kulim is looking to develop the segment into a new strategic large-scale and viable business for the group,” it added.

Meanwhile, both QSR and KFCH announced that their shares and warrants will be suspended from Jan 7, three clear market days prior to the entitlement date.

Accordingly, the last day of trading in QSR and KFCH shares and warrants will be Jan 4.