MBMR Expansion Plan Firmly On Track Despite Challenging Year

Strategic investments set to secure the Group’s future

Kuala Lumpur, June 17, 2014 â€“ MBM Resources Berhad (MBMR) is confident that its expansion plan remains firmly on track after successfully maintaining the record revenues and profits achieved in the previous year despite a challenging year in 2013.

For the 12-month period ended December 31, 2013, MBMR recorded revenues of RM2,234.3 million and profit before tax of RM194.2 million, down 1.5 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively from the previous year.

Strong contributions from existing businesses and prudent cost management ensured that the declines were marginal although the Group had to face uncertainties brought about by the May 2013 General Election, intense competition in the automotive market and operational cost pressures.

MBMR group managing director Looi Kok Loon said that existing businesses continued to perform well with profit before tax growing by 9.7 per cent in 2013 and 15 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 even as costs incurred for the expansion plan had to be taken in.

“We have made the necessary investments to secure our future.  For example, we saw tremendous opportunities in the aftersales business and have moved decisively to add capacity by upgrading existing service centres and adding three new ones for a total of 46 in 2013.

However, some investments will need a gestation period before we see significant contributions.  These include our new alloy wheel plant, which fills a gap in the supply of OEM-quality standard alloy wheels in Malaysia and also has tremendous potential for export as it is designed with the highest specifications for meeting international quality standards,” he said.

MBMR’s investments in network expansion not only increased its capacity and geographical reach that contributed to higher sales but also allowed the Group to leverage on the strong growth in new car sales in the past five years to boost its recurring income contribution from the highly lucrative and defensive aftersales business.  

While MBMR’s total vehicles sales in 2013 grew by 4 per cent to 26,586 units, the Group recorded a strong 12 per cent growth in service throughputs to 166,963 units from 149,108 units in 2012.

Hirotako Holdings Berhad, the leading manufacturer of automotive safety restraint products in Malaysia, proved to be a star acquisition as it achieved new record revenues of RM296.7 million in 2013.   

Looi added, “We are highly optimistic that the Group is headed in the right direction.  With capital expenditures tapering off, we are looking forward to an exciting 2015 when we will be seeing full-year contributions from OMI Alloy, the new Hino Motors Manufacturing plant in Sendayan and the new Perodua plant in Rawang.  Hirotako, whose airbag sales grew by 13 per cent last year and seat belts are fitted in 68 per cent of vehicles produced in Malaysia, should also remain a major revenue contributor.”

MBMR, which has been synonymous with the Daihatsu brand since its inception, has evolved into a diverse automotive group that represents some of the biggest international brands in Malaysia.  They include commercial vehicle brands Daihatsu and HINO; passenger car brands Perodua, Volvo, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi; and sports tuning brands, ABT and HeicoSportiv, and car-care brand Williams.

MBMR is the leader in every market segment it competes in, with products that range from light, medium and heavy duty trucks and buses to entry-level compact cars and luxury sports utility vehicles.

By 2015, MBMR plans to become one of the leading and most complete automotive groups in Malaysia with a full spectrum of capabilities that include manufacturing and assembly, distribution, retail and dealerships, parts and accessories, body and paint repair and customer services.

Qualifications

  • Diploma in Civil Engineering, University Technology MARA, Shah Alam
  • Degree in Civil Engineering, University Technology MARA, Shah Alam
  • Executive Diploma in Business Administration, University of Central Lancashire, United Kingdom.

Working Experience / Other Directorships

Present:

  • Group Advisor, PNA Technologies Sdn Bhd
  • Group Advisor, Syarikat Metal Industries of Malaysia Sdn Bhd

Past:

  • Group Advisor New Business Development of Ingress Corporation Berhad
  • President & Chief Executive Officer of Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) from 2013 to 2018
  • Managing Director of Perodua from 2009 to 2012
  • Executive Director of Strategic Marketing Group, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd from 2007 to 2009
  • Executive Director of Strategic Planning Group, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd in 2006
  • Executive Director, Sales Group of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd from 2004 to 2005
  • Director, Human Capital Group of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd from 2001 to 2003
  • General Manager, HR and Administration of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd from 1996 to 2001
  • Manager, Property and Facilities of UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd from 1992 to 1996
  • Property and Purchasing Manager of Utusan Melayu (M) Sdn Bhd in 1992
  • Property and Maintenance Manager of Techart Sdn Bhd from 1985 to 1991
  • Project Engineer of Techart Sdn Bhd from 1983 to 1985
  • Board of Director Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM)
  • Board of Director Universiti Teknologi Mara Holding (UiTMH)
  • Board of Director Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP)

Membership of Board Committees in MBMR:

  • Nominating and Remuneration Committee (Chairman)
  • Audit Committee (Member)
  • Group Transformation Committee* (Chairman)

*Dissolved on 27 January 2022

Date Appointed to the Board

  • 29 May 2019

Mr. Low Hin Choong was appointed to the Board on 18 May 2001. He is currently the Chairman of the Long Term Incentive Plan Committee and a member of the Risk Management and Sustainability Committee.

He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Business Administration and Computer Science from Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom.

Mr. Low has over 30 years of experience in the IT industry. He is the founding director of his own successful software applications company. Mr. Low has since retired but remains as a director and advisor to the company.

Mr. Low is presently a Director of Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd and an alternate Director at Med-Bumikar MARA Sdn Bhd. He also holds directorships in Reliance Business Solutions Sdn Bhd, Rosen Sdn Bhd, RBS Technology Sdn Bhd and CathRx Ltd, an Australian-based medical device company.

His current directorships in other companies within the MBMR Group include Hirotako Holdings Berhad, Hirotako Acoustics Sdn Bhd, Autoliv Hirotako Sdn Bhd, Federal Auto Holdings Berhad, Oriental Metal Industries (M) Sdn Bhd, Daihatsu Malaysia Sdn Bhd and MBMR Properties Sdn Bhd.

Mr. Ng Seng Kong has been on the Board since 1 October 2015. He is currently a member of the Audit Committee.

Mr. Ng is a Fellow Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, United Kingdom and a Fellow Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, United Kingdom. He is also a member of Chartered Global Management Accountant.

Mr. Ng started his career as an auditor at a chartered accounting firm in London from 1975 to 1979. Upon returning to Malaysia, he joined MKS Sdn Bhd as a Financial Controller from 1980 to 1981. Presently, Mr. Ng serves as Managing Director of UMS Holdings Berhad and UMS Corporation Sdn Bhd.

Mr. Ng also currently holds directorships in several companies within the MBMR Group namely, Hirotako Holdings Berhad, Hirotako Acoustics Sdn Bhd, Autoliv Hirotako Sdn Bhd, Federal Auto Holdings Berhad, Oriental Metal Industries (M) Sdn Bhd, MBMR Properties Sdn Bhd, Teck See Plastic Sdn Bhd, Hino Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd and Hino Motors Manufacturing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. He is also a Director on the Board of Med-Bumikar MARA Sdn Bhd.

Qualifications

  • Master of Arts, International Studies, Ohio University, United States of America
  • Bachelor of Economics (Hons), University of Malaya, Malaysia

Working Experience / Other Directorships

Present:

  • Chairman of Zelan Berhad

Past:

  • Director of CIMB Principal Asset Management Berhad
  • Chairman of Faber Group Berhad from 2001 to 2008
  • Various management positions in Khazanah Nasional Berhad from 1994 to 2004 including Managing Director position.
  • Special Assistant to the Secretary General of Ministry of Finance from 1993 to 1994
  • Principal Assistant Secretary in the Finance Division, Federal Treasury under Ministry of Finance from 1991 to 1993
  • Deputy Director of Petroleum Development Division under Prime Minister’s Department from 1986 to 1991
  • Principal Assistant Secretary in Foreign Investment Division, Economic Planning Unit under Prime Minister’s Department from 1982 to 1984
  • Attachment with Investment Division of the Malaysian Tobacco Company Berhad under the British Malaysia Industry & Trade Association training scheme from 1984 to 1985
  • Principal Assistant Secretary in Economic & International Division, Federal Treasury under Ministry of Finance from 1980 to 1981
  • Principal Assistant Secretary in Budget Division, Federal Treasury under Ministry of Finance from 1978 to 1980
  • Assistant Director in Industries Division under Ministry of International Trade & Industry from 1973 to 1978

Membership of Board Committees in MBMR:

  • Nominating and Remuneration Committee (Member)
  • Audit Committee (Chairman)
  • Long Term Incentive Plan Committee (Member)
  • Risk Management and Sustainability Committee (Member)

Date Appointed to the Board

  • 16 January 2018

Qualifications

  • Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
  • Member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants
  • Bachelor degree in Accountancy

Working Experience / Other Directorships

Present:

  • Chief Executive Officer of Berjaya Capital Berhad
  • Non-Independent Non- Executive Director of 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Berhad
  • Audit Committee Member of Razak School of Government

Past:

  • Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of MARA Corporation Sdn Bhd from 2016 to 2019
  • Chief Operating and Financial Officer of Unitar Capital Sdn Bhd from 2012 to 2016
  • Advisor of ECS Solutions Sdn Bhd from 2011 to 2012
  • Audit and Assurance Director of Ernst & Young from 2008 to 2011
  • Manager under Banking and Capital Market Group of Ernst & Young LLP, London from 2003 to 2008
  • Internal Auditor of Habib Bank AG Zurich from 2002 to 2003
  • Senior Auditor of John Cumming Ross, Ltd in 2001
  • Senior Auditor of Andersen & Co, Malaysia (formerly known as Arthur Andersen & Co) from 1998 to 2001

Membership of Board Committees in MBMR:

  • Audit and Risk Management Committee (Member)
  • Group Transformation Committee* (Member)

*Dissolved on 27 January 2022

Date Appointed to the Board

  • 28 January 2019

Ms. Wong Fay Lee was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director on 29 May 2019. She is currently the Chairman of the Risk Management and Sustainability Committee and a member of the Nominating and Remuneration Committee.

Ms. Wong graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor’s Degree in Law. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investments from Securities Institute Australia.

She started her career in 1987 as a corporate finance lawyer with Mallesons Stephen Jaques in Sydney, Australia and later as a Senior Associate in Mallesons’ South East Asian practice. She then joined the Malaysian Securities Commission as Manager of Product Development from 1993 to 1995.

Her past leadership positions include serving as Chief Executive Officer at Malaysian Derivatives Clearing House Bhd (now known as Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad) from 1995 to 2000, Adviser to the Clearing Division of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited from 2001 to 2002 and she was also an Independent Director at KFH Asset Management Sdn Bhd from 2002 to 2010.

Ms Wong was previously appointed as an Executive Director in MBMR from 2014 to 2017 while concurrently serving as MBMR’s Head of Governance, Legal Risk & Compliance between 2011 until 2018. She was also appointed as Managing Director of Federal Auto Holdings Berhad from 2016 to 2017.

She is currently the Chairman of Federal Auto Holdings Berhad and a Director at Daihatsu (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Med-Bumikar MARA Sdn Bhd, and Astute Fund Management Berhad (formerly Apex Investment Services Berhad).

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Economic, International Islamic University Malaysia
  • London Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) Higher – Business Statistics
  • Six Sigma – Champion Training, Motorola University

Working Experience / Other Directorships

Present:

  • Group Chief Executive Officer
  • Director of Daihatsu (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
  • Director of Federal Auto Holdings Berhad
  • Director of Autoliv Hirotako Sdn Bhd
  • Director of Teck See Plastic Sdn Bhd
  • Director of MBMR Properties Sdn Bhd
  • Director of Oriental Metal Industries (M) Sdn Bhd
  • Director of Hirotako Acoustics Sdn Bhd
  • Director of Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd

Past:

  • Head, Automotive Distribution Division, Hicom Holdings Berhad (HHB) – Holding
    company of listed DRB-Hicom Berhad
  • Director, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM)
  • Director, Isuzu Motors Sdn Bhd (IMSB)
  • Director, Edaran Otomobil Nasional (EON)
  • Director, EON Auto Mart Sdn Bhd
  • Director, Euromobil Sdn Bhd
  • Director, Hicom Auto Sdn Bhd
  • Director, AVIS Malaysia
  • Director, ACM
  • Director, DRB-Hicom Commercial Vehicles Sdn Bhd (DHCV)
  • Director, DRB-Hicom Auto Solution Sdn Bhd
  • Senior General Manager – Sales & Marketing Division, Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd
  • General Manager – Sales Division, Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd
  • Deputy General Manager – Sales Operations, Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd
  • Senior Manager – Sales Planning Department, Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd
  • Senior Manager – Distribution Department, Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd
  • Coordinator, MD’s Office, Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd
  • Manager – Market Planning, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd
  • Marketing Manager, UMW Engineering Sdn Bhd
  • Strategic Planning & Business Development Manager, UMW Auto Parts Sdn Bhd
  • Marketing Administration Executive, UMW Heavy Equipment Group
  • Corporate Planning & Project Executive, UMW Corporation Sdn Bhd
  • Economic Analyst, Federation of Malaysia Manufacturers (FMM)

Date Appointed to MBMR

  • 8th February 2021

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Science in Accounting (Honours), Oklahoma State University, United States of America.
  • Member of Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA)

Working Experience / Other Directorships

Present:

  • Group Chief Financial Officer of MBM Resources Berhad

Past:

  • Group Financial Controller of MBM Resources Berhad
  • Director of Daihatsu (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd
  • Director of Federal Auto Holdings Berhad
  • Director of Autoliv Hirotako Sdn Bhd
  • Director of Teck See Plastic Sdn Bhd
  • Acting President & CEO of MBM Resources Berhad
  • Partner of Annbren Management & Consultancy Services
  • Group Financial Controller of Scomi Group Berhad
  • Regional Finance Controller of Scomi Group Berhad, Oilfield services
  • Audit Manager of Ernst & Young

Date Appointed to MBMR

  • 1st November 2016

Qualifications

  • B. A. (Hons) Accounting and Financial Studies, University of Exter, UK
  • Certified Training Professional, ARTDO-ITD International
  • Member, Society for Human Resource Management
  • Member, International Coaching Federation

Working Experience / Other Directorships

Present:

  • Director, Group Corporate Services

Past:

  • Director, Transformation Office of MBMR Resources Berhad
  • Board of Trustees of Kelab Belia Kalsom (The Kalsom Movement)
  • Director/Head, Group Human Capital of MARA Corporation Sdn Bhd
  • Executive Director, UNITAR International Academy Sdn Bhd
  • Director, Vice Chancellor’s Office of UNITAR International University
  • Head of Collaboration of Arise Asia Sdn Bhd
  • Vice President, Strategic Human Capital Management of Khazanah National Berhad
  • Consultant of Mercer Human Capital Consulting

Date Appointed to MBMR

  • 4th February 2020

CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

2022 was a highly successful year for MBMR with recordbreaking revenue and profits. As we celebrate the Groupwide achievements, we are also proud that the exceptional performance was achieved on the back of progress made in our sustainability strategies and objectives in the year.

Key environmental achievements in 2022 involved the increase in our Group-wide reduce, reuse and recycle initiatives from the preceding year. These initiatives included the installation of solar panels in our manufacturing plants and continued Group-wide upgrades from conventional to LED lighting. We also reduced the Group’s water and electricity intensity consumption even with the resumption of normal operating hours and a substantial increase in our manufacturing numbers.

Waste management saw an improvement along with the expansion of our recycling initiatives. In our manufacturing companies, the continued maintenance of the ISO 14001 environmental management system accreditation provides the assurance to our stakeholders that our operations comply with environmental regulations while also generating cost-savings through more efficient use of resources and waste management.

On the social front, we strongly believe that our investment in people is a key driver of commercial success throughout the Group, underpinned by employee engagement and a firmly integrated culture of employee appreciation, development, diversity and inclusion. From providing a safe working environment, encouraging diversity and inclusion at all levels to remuneration and benefits benchmarking and ensuring that our employees are rewarded for their respective contributions, have access to training and career development opportunities, we will continue to attract and retain the best talent.

The talent development programmes for the upskilling of our employees were undertaken with this belief in mind. We have also expanded the talent development to the communities, most notably our pledge towards the establishment of MBMR’s Scholarship Programme to support the younger generation to gain access to quality education, details of which will be announced in due course.

Additionally, our social sustainability initiatives, which included wellness programmes and our CSR activities throughout the year have helped us in being recognised as a better employer engaged in more responsible business practices. The employee and customer satisfaction surveys conducted have achieved an encouraging score, an indication that our sustainability and business strategieshavehadapositiveeffectonour stakeholders. As we expand our efforts in the respective overarching pillars, it is our hope that the satisfaction scores would increase further.

Concurrently, digitalisation initiatives have also enabled us to build closer relationships with our dealers and customers in our motor trading companies, contributing to better overall sales and service figures. In our manufacturing companies, improved monitoring and adoption of automation has improved the operational efficiencies in our manufacturing plants.

As the Group widens the adoption of digitalisation initiatives, the ongoing deployment of our Data Protection and Cyber Security programmes under the Governance pillar have improved the Group’s Cyber Security infrastructure and awareness.

Our efforts to improve our Group’s businesses are supported by a robust governance, risk management and internal control framework and practices. We aim to instil the highest standards of integrity, honesty, and transparency within the Group. Other significant initiatives under the Governance pillar involve the implementation of fundamental Group-wide policies with the aim of improving overall governance within the Group. This includes the adoption of a new Group Enterprise Risk Management Policy and Framework to ensure effective identification, assessment and management of the Group’s risks in a holistic manner towards achieving the Group’s business objectives.

We see environmental, social, economic and governance priorities as an important part of our mission to be the automotive partner of choice to our stakeholders. Through our ongoing investments in knowledge development and management, operational excellence, innovative technology adoption and digitalisation, we continue to drive our businesses to directly address these pillars to help in ensuring the sustainability of our planet. We do not see an alternative. Therefore, we believe continuous improvements in the material sustainability matters that we have identified are aligned with delivering sustainable returns to our shareholders. Having embarked on our transformation journey since 2019 and with our commitment to continue on that course, we aim to deliver additional and continuous improvements.

Moving forward, existing initiatives undertaken by the Group under all four pillars of sustainability will be further refined and expanded. The Group will also seek to further improve disclosures in line with recent enhanced sustainability reporting requirements.

Encik Aqil bin Ahmad Azizuddin
Chairman