AwanBiru Technology Berhad - Annual Report 2021

For the financial year under review, the Group recorded a total revenue of RM104.9 million compared to RM152.9 million in the preceding financial year, representing a decrease of 31.4%. The Group however registered a profit after taxation of RM9.3 million in FY2021 compared to loss of RM18.0 million in the previous financial year, mainly due to a one-off gain obtained from the disposal of a subsidiary. Moving forward, the Group will work towards overcoming the challenges it faces and strives to improve the Group’s financial performance in the coming years employing various measures and strategies already articulated above. Dividend Awantec has paid a cumulative dividend pay-out of RM134.9 million since our listing. However, in view of the current challenging business environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuation of our rationalisation plans that includes among others, cost cutting measures to improve Awantec’s cash flow and to increase our working capital, the Board have decided that no dividends will be declared for FY2021. OUTLOOK Awantec is a forward looking and thinking entity. It has not looked back at the setbacks it’s been dealt, instead we have pivoted to add value to our customers with the Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace offerings. In February, when the Malaysian Digital Blueprint was launched, Awantec’s subsidiary, Prestariang Systems Sdn. Bhd. is selected to support government agencies in operationalising few of the pillars with our core services. Our appointment included the provision of a suite of cloud-based services for the next three years, from 2021 to 2023. Awantec is confident with our global cloud services as the industry is on an uptrend for over a decade now and in 2020, it was valued at USD370 billion. This prospect gives our shareholders and other stakeholders confidence in our products and services offerings to market. Data is a future commodity, and its proliferation has only about 50% penetration into the Western market while the Asian market offers significant opportunities to leverage data as a commodity in the near future. The digital economy has the potential to enhance competitiveness and dynamism as countries are investing in the digital landscape to ensure they become more inclusive, efficient, and innovative by leveraging these emerging digital trends and solutions. Countries such as Finland, Singapore and Thailand have launched long-term strategies and initiatives to reap the benefits of the digital economy, while safeguarding themselves against its risks. Malaysia too should follow suit and we believe many initiatives carried out for this purpose are compulsory steps towards the right direction. In Malaysia, the government has mandated 80% (estimated value at RM1.76 billion) usage of cloud storage across the government services by 2022. Public sector Cloud spend in 2022 is anticipated at RM2.2 billion. 2020 has been a pivotal year for the cloud as it played a lead role in facilitating remote work solutions. COVID-19 has heightened the focus on cloud capabilities as companies compete to thrive in this new remote work environment. The cloud has become an essential part of business continuity and the key to unlocking organisational growth. Worldwide spending on public cloud services is forecasted to grow 18.4% in 2021, which validates our view that Awantec is indeed in the right business and it has gained the necessary capacities and capabilities to propel the nation into digitalisation. 104.9 Revenue (RM million) FY2020: 152.9 9.3 Profit/Loss After Taxation (RM million) FY2020: (18.0) Key Messages | Awantec 15 Annual Report 2021