PETALING JAYA: Sports Toto Bhd (SPToto) reported RM1.63 billion revenue for the fourth quarter of its financial year ended June 30, 2025 (current quarter), a slight decrease of 1.3% from RM1.65 billion registered in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.
The group registered a pre-tax profit of RM72.3 million for the current quarter, a drop of 30.6% from RM104.2 million posted in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
In a statement, SPToto said the marginal drop in revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 was mainly due to softer sales from HR Owen Plc, while the drop in pre-tax profit was reflected from the performance of both STM Lottery Sdn Bhd and HR Owen, and also higher investment-related expenses incurred during the quarter but partially mitigated by higher share of profits from associate companies.
For the current quarter, STM Lottery achieved stronger revenue growth of 3.7% ompared to the previous year’s corresponding quarter. Primarily driven by higher accumulated prizes from the 4D Jackpot game, while the number of draws remained the same in both quarters. Pre-tax profit decreased by 14.8%, mainly attributed to higher operating expenses including corporate social responsibility sponsorships incurred during the current quarter under review.
As for HR Owen, a revenue drop of 4.1% was registered in the current quarter compared to the previous year’s corresponding quarter, which was mainly due to lower sales volume in the new car sector that was impacted by the change in distribution structure of certain manufacturers and the product life cycle of certain car models.
The lower pre-tax profit of RM11.7 million from RM17.6 million in last year’s same quarter aligned with the reported lower revenue coupled with higher operating expenses incurred in relation to brand positioning efforts.
For the financial year ended June 30, 2025, SPToto reported revenue of RM6.5 billion, representing a rise of 1.7% over revenue of RM6.4 billion in the previous year.
The group’s pre-tax profit increased by 8.2% to RM370.8 million compared to the pre-tax profit of RM342.8 million reported in the previous year.
STM Lottery registered revenue and pre-tax profit growth of 5.4% and 13.3% respectively compared to the previous year despite conducting fewer draws in the current financial year (164 versus 167 draws in the previous year). The revenue growth was due to the higher sales driven by higher accumulated jackpot from the Supreme Toto 6/58 game in the current financial year; while the increase in pre-tax profit was in tandem with the revenue growth coupled with lower prize payout during the current financial year under review.
HR Owen’s revenue improved by 3.1% in the financial year ended June 30, 2025 compared to the previous financial year, which was mainly attributed to the used car sector and from the new marque, Lotus, represented by the company during the current financial year under review.
However, due to unfavourable foreign exchange effect, revenue dropped 1% when converted into ringgit, which is the reporting currency of the group.
HR Owen reported lower pre-tax profit by 24% compared to the previous financial year, which was mainly attributed to higher operating expenses incurred related to brand positioning efforts, while partially mitigated by reduced financial costs following the interest rate reduction in the United Kingdom.
The Board of directors has declared a fourth interim dividend of two sen per share, amounting to about RM26.7 million for the financial year ended June 30, 2025. The dividend is payable on Oct 17 with the entitlement date fixed on Oct 2.
With this, the total dividend distribution for the financial year is eight sen per share, amounting to about RM106.9 million.
The directors remain cautiously optimistic that the group’s business will remain stable and resilient. The number forecast operator (NFO) business is expected to continue to deliver growth in line with the popularity of its jackpot and digit games.
Despite prevailing uncertainties and global economic headwinds including geopolitical tensions, ongoing trade disputes and inflationary tariff impact, the directors are confident that it will continue its lead in terms of market share in the legalised NFO business sector and the group’s businesses are expected to be encouraging and maintain a positive outlook for the financial year ending June 30 2026.