I-Berhad (7029-H) - Bursa Malaysia
I-Berhad (7029-H) - Bursa Malaysia
I-Berhad (7029-H) - Bursa Malaysia
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12<br />
Dear Shareholders,<br />
On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am pleased<br />
to present the Annual Report and Accounts of<br />
I-<strong>Berhad</strong> for the year ended 31 December 1999.<br />
When the new management took over I-<strong>Berhad</strong> on 4 August 1999, we charted a new business direction for<br />
the Company. In the past, the Company was mainly an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Although<br />
the products manufactured by the Company met the stringent quality standards set by the Japanese OEM<br />
buyers, there was hardly any sales under the Company’s own brand.<br />
We thus took the decision to introduce our own ‘i’ brand of products into the market. But more importantly,<br />
we positioned the ‘i’ brand as intelligent, innovative, interactive and international and competed with the<br />
leading brands in the country. We felt that this positioning is justified given the Company’s manufacturing<br />
track record as well as the current product technology.<br />
The Board recognises that the Company is operating in a highly competitive industry. The home appliances<br />
industry has a number of established players in the local market. However, the Company has been able to<br />
establish a “beachhead” in this industry because of our innovative and imaginative approach to create new<br />
demand for our products. Our performance in the past six months has shown that the domestic demand is<br />
still growing and that the momentum of growth will be sustained as the country’s economy is gaining strength.<br />
More importantly, the new management has managed to arrest the declining sales trend. The Company’s<br />
turnover peaked at RM139.6 million in the early 90s and since then, the turnover had been decreasing year<br />
by year. For the financial year ended 31 December 1999, the Company’s sales increased when compared<br />
to the previous year. This sales turnaround is even more impressive when the economic climate is taken<br />
into consideration.<br />
Over the past six months, we have transformed the Company from a purely domestic manufacturing concern<br />
into an aggressive marketing cum manufacturing concern. The transformation has yet to be completed. When<br />
completed in two to three years’ time, the Company will have home-grown technology, an internationally<br />
recognised brand and be a market leader.<br />
To support the expansion programme, the Company had on 20 January 2000 announced the following:<br />
1. Proposed bonus issue of 20,196,000 new ordinary shares of RM1.00 each;<br />
2. Proposed rights issue of:<br />
Chairman’s Statement<br />
a. 40,392,000 new ordinary shares of RM1.00 each and<br />
b. RM40,392,000 nominal value of 5-year 5% Irredeemable Convertible Unsecured Loan Stock (“ICULS”)<br />
with 40,392,000 free detachable warrants.