PRESTARIANG Bhd will embark on an investment drive over the next three years and work on a mid- to long-term business plan to ensure a recurring and sustainable income.
Its chief executive officer Dr Abu Hasan Ismail said the company aims to continue maintaining a strong cash flow and be a dividend-yield stock.
“Prestariang will continue to reward shareholders with a minimum 50 per cent profit payout and be a syariah-compliant stock,” he told Business Times in an email interview.
Prestariang has paid out RM66 million in dividends to shareholders since its listing on July 2011.
“We have progressed so much even before listing to become a formidable player in the ICT (information and communications technology) training and certification industry, both locally and in the region” Abu Hassan said.
He said the ICT firm is expanding and has now set up its own boutique university, University Malaysia of Computer Science and Engineering (UniMy), in Cyberjaya.
UniMy is Malaysia’s first boutique university that focuses on providing specialised computer science and engineering education to meet Malaysia’s demand for ICT-related professionals.
Set up in 2012, UniMy is targeting 500 students this year.
He added that Professor Datuk Dr Khairuddin Abdul Hamid will also be appointed as the new vice-chancellor.
Last month, it set up the Petroleum Academy Malaysia in Pasir Gudang, Johor, whic specialises in training and certification for the young workforce in Malaysia’s oil and gas sector.
In view of the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (Rapid) project in Pengerang, Johor, Prestariang plans to train 2,000 students this year and 3,500 next year to fill an expected demand for 70,000 workers there.
It has allocated a RM2 million capital expenditure for the academy over the next three years as the oil and gas training segment is set to contribute 20 per cent of revenue for the company beginning next year.
Incorporated in 2003, Prestariang is the country’s largest provider of ICT training, certification and software licence management and distribution services.
With a cash pile of RM72 million, the company has three core business divisions, namely education, academy, software and services.
Prestariang offers more than 50 certification courses from several technology and software providers and organisations, such as Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, Autodesk and Adobe.