PNB posted record income and bonus distribution of RM14.5bil in 2024
PETALING JAYA: Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) delivered a record income and bonus distribution of RM14.5bil to unitholders for its 18 fixed price funds (FP) and variable price funds (VP) last year.
In a statement, the state-owned investment company said the success was driven by a positive macroeconomic and capital market environment, as well as its continued asset diversification strategy, with PNB's total group net income rising 30.2% from RM13.04bil to RM16.97bil.
The total number of accounts had also expanded to a record-high of 16.2 million while the number of unique account holders hit 13.1 million.
The group said, with that, total assets under management (AUM) recovered, recording RM348.3bil, an increase from RM337.0bil in 2023.
Group chairman Raja Tan Sri Arshad Raja Tun Uda said the Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) distributed a record dividend through its flagship fund, Amanah Saham Bumiputra (ASB).
'The ASB benefitted all Malaysians, distributing a total income of 5.75 sen, the highest over the last five years. All our 18 FP and VP outperformed their benchmarks, with 11 out of 12 of our VP funds, ranked in the top or second quartile among their respective peer groups, reflecting the long-term resilience of PNB in delivering its purpose to uplift the financial lives of Malaysians across generations,' he said.
Moving on, its president and group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said the nation needs to be realistic that the macroeconomic and capital markets will be highly uncertain and volatile for the year ahead.
He explained this is being driven by geo-political development and fundamental shift in US trade policies, but PNB will remain steadfast in executing the strategic initiatives across the six pillars that it developed under our LEAP 6 Strategic Plan.
'Our focus remains in sustaining the performance of our funds through continued asset diversification strategy as we fulfil our commitment of delivering consistent, competitive returns to our unitholders,' he said.
Abdul Rahman explained that a big challenge at the moment is getting more people to invest with ASNB particularly because of changing spending habits, and pressure on net disposable income that has impacted how Malaysians save today compared to 10 years ago.
'However, we are optimistic that we can address this by strengthening our sales and distribution capabilities, supported by product innovation, financial literacy programmes, and an expanded distribution platform," he said.
'Our focus remains in sustaining the performance of our funds through continued asset diversification strategy as we fulfil our commitment of delivering consistent, competitive returns to our unitholders.' Meanwhile, PNB also released its Integrated Report for the year ended Dec 31, 2024 (IR2024) which provided information on latest initiatives, including the LEAP 6 Strategic Plan that established the target to grow AUM to RM400bil by 2027.
The report also looked at the rebranding of ASNB to re-energise efforts to attract the younger generation and the launch of Robo Investment Advisor (Ria) and Celik MADANI.
'Also highlighted was the substantial progress PNB is making in advancing its sustainability agenda, especially in achieving net-zero emissions at both the enterprise and portfolio levels and advancing the minimum living wage agenda across corporate Malaysia,' the group said.
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