AEON Co (M) Bhd has shared that the immediate focus of the group is to ensure its core businesses remain resilient in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and its after-effects.
“AEON’s immediate focus is to ensure its core businesses remain resilient and to weather through these uncertain times via innovative ways to reach its customers,” said Iskandar Sarudin, chairman of AEON, in a statement after AEON’s 35th annual general meeting (AGM), which was conducted virtually.
“2020 is proving to be a very difficult year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had a significant impact not only on the company, but also on the industry and the country’s economy,” he noted.
Towards the goal of improving resilience in its core businesses, AEON has implemented several measures, such as the drive-thru, personal shopper, and home delivery options for its customers.
“We are embarking on strategies specifically on the new business model of O2O (Online to Offline to Online), and to work on this transformation, we have formed the AEON Leadership Council (ALC) that symbolises the attributes of diversity, competency (including digitalisation) and transparency,” said Shafie Shamsuddin, managing director of AEON.
“The O2O strategy will shift AEON’s business model to be more agile, resilient and intrapreneurial towards meeting customers’ real demands. On the costs front, AEON will put in place strong, effective and prudent cost control measures to manage its cash flows and costs,” added Shafie.
At the AGM, the company also announced a final dividend of 4 sen per ordinary share for its 2019 financial year, for a total amount payable of RM56 mil.
For the 2019 financial year, AEON had posted a cumulative revenue of RM4.54 bil, along with a profit of RM109.2 mil, attributed to the revenue contributions from new, specialty, and renovated outlets during the year under review.
“This has been achieved amid a subdued consumer sentiment with concerns over rising cost of living and uncertainties in business outlook and employment,” said Iskandar.
AEON’s most recent results, for the first quarter of FY20 (1QFY20), saw the company reporting a revenue of RM1.19 bil, a dip year-on-year (y-o-y) from 1QFY19’s RM1.21 bil, along with a profit of RM7.47 mil, compared to a profit of RM32.63 mil y-o-y. The difference is attributed to a higher profit margin during 1QFY19.
At 10.38am, AEON’s shares were last done at a static RM1.01, with 134,900 shares changing hands. – June 26, 2020
