Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd - Announcements

Chairman’s S TATEMENT
Dear Shareholders,
The Utusan Melayu Group of Companies can look back on 1999 with satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
A two-prong strategy adopted earlier to reduce costs and a steady shift towards the increasing use of technology
in our operations have paid off during the year. Against the backdrop of a reviving economy, this has helped in
no small measure in bringing our financial performance back into positive territory.
The Group is also fortunate to have emerged from the economic recession relatively unscathed. Even at the worst
of times, we did not encounter any cash-flow problems affecting our operations, which continued at optimum
levels. If anything, the economic downturn has demonstrated our resilience and indeed, we have come out of it
a leaner, more efficient and intensely focused Group. Nor has it derailed our growth process. Some years ago we
set our sights to be a leading multiple media communications company in the country. Today we are well on our
way towards achieving this vision. The world-wide Internet revolution bears out the conviction that we are
moving in the right direction.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased to present this Annual Report and Audited Accounts of the
Utusan Melayu Group of Companies for the financial year ended 31 December 1999.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
For 1999, Gross Domestic Product growth has been conservatively projected at 1% against a contraction of 6.7%
in 1998. This has had a positive impact on the Group’s respective businesses, with almost all our subsidiaries
returning to the black. At the same time, the turnaround in the Group’s financial performance was also achieved
on the back of earlier investments in new machinery and technology which began to bear fruit only recently.
During the year under review, the Group turnover was recorded at RM297.3 million, up 13.3% from RM262.3
million recorded for the previous corresponding period. From a loss of RM18.5 million incurred in 1998,
the Group is back on to more familiar grounds, achieving a profit before tax of RM13.0 million.
18 Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Berhad
Left: Sri Utusan, the printing plant, is the heart and
soul of perpetual activity, day and night.
Right: Our warehouse has the capacity for storing
massive supplies of newsprint, delivered for our
printing operations.