Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd has announced an income distribution of 6.75 sen per unit and bonus of 0.50 sen per unit for the Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) for financial year ended Dec 31, 2016.

Last year, the company announced an income distribution of 7.25 sen per unit and a bonus of 0.50 sen per unit.

The Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) subsidiary also declared an income distribution of 5.00 sen per unit for Amanah Saham Nasional (ASN) for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016 compared with 6.10 sen per unit paid out last year.

PNB Group chairperson Abdul Wahid Omar said the performance of ASB exceeded the performance of the country's equity market, which recorded a negative total return of -1.7 per cent.

"This year marked the third consecutive stock market decline. The FBM KLCI declined by 73 points from 1,692.5 points on Dec 31, 2015 to 1,619.1 points as of Nov 30, 2016," he told a media briefing in Kuala Lumpur today.

"Overall market performance was affected by various factors including capital outflows into developed economies, low commodity prices, foreign exchange volatility and geopolitical developments," he added.

Despite these challenges, Wahid said ASB managed to achieve a gross income of RM9.59 billion, as at Nov 30, 2016.

Dividend income from investee companies stood at RM4.16 billion, profit from the sale of shares contributed RM3.82 billion and the remaining RM1.60 billion was derived from investments in short term investments and other income.

Nine million unit holders of ASB, holding over 143 billion units, will receive a total income distribution of RM9.78 billion.

The total income distribution for ASN stood at RM82.72 million.

Going forward, PNB, which saw sufficient ground for cautious optimism, expected 2017 to be another uncertain year.

Wahid, however, said the implementation of its six-year strategic plan would continue to drive the company to deliver sustainable and competitive returns for its unitholders.

The plan encompassed the Bumiputera empowerment as part of its inclusive and equitable nation-building agenda.

- Bernama