WOTSO WorkSpace (“WOTSO”), one of Australia’s largest flexible workspace providers has started its first operations in Malaysia. The large facility offers coworking, hot desks, offices, meeting rooms and event space in Mercu Summer Suites, a project under UEM Sunrise Berhad (“UEM Sunrise”), one of Malaysia’s leading property developers and Master developer of Iskandar Puteri.

WOTSO which seeks to excite individuals and corporates ranging from freelancers, start-ups, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to large multinational organisations is located right in the heart of Kuala Lumpur within minutes-walk from KLCC, Dang Wangi LRT and Bukit Nanas Monorail stations.

“The public’s understanding of WOTSO’s business and businesses like it has grown since we commenced operations in Australia 4 years ago” said BlackWall’s Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Brown. “Concepts like “collaborative workspace”, “flexible office space” and “office as a service” are all now well understood by the market.”

The coworking market has grown significantly over the past 5 years. “Lately we are seeing global operators growing significantly by overcommitting to conventional lease arrangements and high end fit out, particularly in the CBD of capital cities. It seems the justification for this is to chase scale or network regardless of profit,” said Brown.

“We have a feeling that this style of business will prove to be unsustainable when the hype subsides. We hope to be in a position to take advantage of the modification if it comes. In the meantime, we will continue to grow through the organic expansion of our sustainable financial model and leverage from our association with a reputable brand like UEM Sunrise that embodies the same vision in creativity and innovation.”

Kenny Wong, Chief Marketing Officer of UEM Sunrise also chimed in that the symbiotic partnership is aligned with UEM Sunrise’s vision, ‘Building communities of the future with you and for you’. “We are always mindful of designing sustainable environments that nurtures community building which includes investments in technology, entrepreneurship and innovation. It is very exciting to be one of the players in Malaysia that continuously adds value to the creative economy. Although the coworking concept is trending in Malaysia, it is still considered a new market with unlimited growth potential. We are confident that WOTSO, being one of the most established coworking space operators in Australia, will be able to provide unique and forward-thinking offerings with their experience and expertise.”

WOTSO is already benefitting from its association with UEM Sunrise. One of its first customers will be a project team which consists of 7 employees who will begin working from the space this week for 6 months, proving that WOTSO can be a solution to large corporates with short term or flexible space needs. The 14,000 sqft hub is large enough to accommodate over 220 members.

WOTSO has a network of 13 locations in Australia and through its “passport programme”, WOTSO members are entitled to work from any location at any time. The passport applies to members from Australia travelling to Malaysia and vice versa. It prides itself to be beyond sharing infrastructure and cost, but belonging to a community, accessibility and sustainability. Unlike the majority of coworking operators, WOTSO does not lock its clients into long term contracts. Instead, it gives flexibility with all offerings available by the day, week or month. For more information on WOTSO visit wotso.com

Kuala Lumpur, 25 February 2019 – UEM Edgenta Berhad (“UEM Edgenta” or
“Company”), the region’s leading Asset Management and Infrastructure Solutions company,
announced its unaudited consolidated results for the year ended 31 December 2018
(“FY2018”) today which saw it posting a net profit of RM152.2 million, a surge of 22% on a
year-on-year (“Y-o-Y”) basis. This compares with a revenue growth of 3% over the same
period.

Growth was attributed to a strong performance in Q4 FY2018 which registered a Profit Before
Tax (“PBT”) of RM82.9 million, a threefold increase when compared to Q3 FY2018 PBT of
RM25.1 million. This is on the back of a 23% increase in revenue to RM647.4 million in the
quarter, which saw two of the Company’s core divisions, the Healthcare and Infrastructure
Services divisions, contributing almost 90% of revenue and PBT for FY2018.
On a Y-o-Y basis, the PBT for Q4 FY2018 was also 10% higher than Q4 FY2017 with a slight
decline in revenue.

Amidst a challenging operating environment, UEM Edgenta was able to record a 3% increase
in revenue to RM2.2 billion for FY 2018 as compared to FY 2017’s revenue of RM2.1 billion.
The revenue growth was derived across all of UEM Edgenta’s major business divisions. PBT
increased to RM198.2 million for FY2018 which was mainly due to improvements realised
through group-wide efficiency and lower financing costs, resulting in a PBT margin increase
to 9% in FY2018 as compared to 8% in FY2017.

Notably, the Healthcare Support division delivered a strong 8% increase in revenue and 7%
increase in PBT on a Y-o-Y basis. Revenue grew on the back of new contracts secured in
FY2018 in Singapore and Taiwan, coupled with a high customer retention rate of almost 90%
in its commercial business. UEM Edgenta’s Healthcare Support division has also benefited
from the continuous sharing of best practices and technology transfer between its concession
and commercial businesses such as the introduction of UETrackTM, the commercial business’
proprietary technology for service delivery, in Malaysian Government hospitals. These
practices, coupled with a healthy pipeline of new projects, will enable organic growth for UEM
Edgenta in FY2019.

Over the course of FY2018, UEM Edgenta has implemented operational excellence initiatives
such as the “Lean” programme to build capabilities across the Company via process
improvements and training, as well as technology and innovation-centric programmes to
tackle high-impact operational areas, all of which have started to bear fruit. Moving forward,
UEM Edgenta will continue to optimise its profit margins via such initiatives.

Additionally, UEM Edgenta maintained its robust balance sheet with a net cash position of
RM70.1 million as at end-2018. This was attributable to strong cashflow from operations of
RM209.3 million in FY2018. UEM Edgenta was also able to maintain its gross gearing ratio at
a conservative 0.35 times.

“Despite the disposal of OIC in December FY2017, our results have surpassed last year’s
performance. UEM Edgenta’s full-year profit after tax and non-controlling interest of RM148.2
million was higher than last year’s profit of RM143.3 million when OIC’s share of profits was
included. This increased profitability and consistent cashflow generation has enabled us to
deliver yet another strong full year dividend payout of 14 sen our shareholders,” said Dato’
Azmir Merican, Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer of UEM Edgenta.

Dato’ Azmir further commented, “We are happy to be able to deliver significant profit growth
after the disposal of OIC, a major subsidiary. We pared down debt, redeployed cash and
rewarded shareholders, and at the same time delivered better results and growth. We have
leveraged on new technologies to drive our growth in shaping an operationally excellent
environment not just for UEM Edgenta but for our clients’ businesses as well. We remain
optimistic of our prospects in Healthcare and Infrastructure and as the industry leader in these
sectors in the countries we operate, we will focus on protecting our market share, as well as
expand and deepen our value chain offerings.”

Dividend for FY2018
On the back of profits generated for the financial year, coupled with its strong financial position
as at end-2018, UEM Edgenta has declared a 2nd interim dividend for FY2018 of 8 sen.

Combined with the earlier 1st interim dividend of 6 sen declared in August 2018, total dividend
payout is 14 sen and is equivalent to a payout ratio of 78.5% on FY2018’s results, in line with
the Company’s enhanced dividend policy of at least 50% and up to 80% payout. The total
dividend payout in FY2018 also represents a yield of 5.1% based on share price as at 31
December 2018 of RM2.72.

PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS) received Expressway Operation Safety Passport (EOSP) achievement recognition from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) when a total of 11,650 individuals, consisting of highway contractors and workers had completed their Basic Induction Safety Course and successfully obtained their safety passports from NIOSH since its introduction in 2017.

The EOSP Memorandum of Understanding Agreement signed in 2017 between PLUS and NIOSH made the company the first highway concessionaire to introduce Safety Passport in the country.

According to PLUS' Managing Director, Datuk Azman Ismail, "PLUS had introduced the EOSP in 2017 which requires all contractors, service providers or personnel undertaking maintenance activities, construction projects or routine work to obtain Security Passport from NIOSH before they can proceed with their work on the highway." 

He stressed that safety is the most crucial element in the PLUS highway service and operations. The move to introduce the EOSP was aimed at encouraging and improving Occupational Safety and Health practices within the highway industry in general.

Before EOSP was introduced, 12 deaths were recorded among highway maintenance workers. The number dropped by 75 percent when only 3 cases were recorded in 2018.

"Individuals who had undergone the course and obtained EOSP Security Passport have higher awareness on safe practices while carrying out their work on the highways," Azman explained.

PLUS also hopes to improve the current EOSP module such as Traffic Management Plan, introducing Safety Vehicle as well as PLUS Innovation Solutions which are focused towards Zero Fatalities in high-risk areas.

"This benefits highway customers in general as accident risks on highways can be easily identified and reduced from time to time,” Azman said.

Reducing accident risks is in line with PLUS' aim in making highway travel safer, smoother and more comfortable for the customers at all times.

PLUS also presented EOSP Appreciation Certificates to 3 contractor partners who actively participated in the EOSP progra

Azman was quoted at an EOSP award ceremony officiated by NIOSH Chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, today. Also present was PLUS Chairman, Tan Sri Dato’ Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim.