KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): Plantation company Malpac Holdings Bhd said its wholly-owned subsidiary has received claims totalling RM78.55 million in connection with a High Court order on assessment of damages against the firm.

In a bourse filing, Malpac said Malpac Capital Sdn Bhd (MCSB) received an affidavit  from Yong Toi Mee and Cheang Kim Leong on the matter on March 31.

They are seeking a RM73.64 million refund on management fees from MCSB for the management of a palm oil mill and RM4.91 million in legal cost.

Malpac said MCSB disputes the damages claims, and is in the process of engaging with its solicitors, who are currently reviewing the legal and factual basis of the damages claims.

Yong and Cheang  had in their lawsuit against MCSB claimed that they have enforceable sale and purchase (S&P) agreements for the shares of a Malpac subsidiary, Radiant Response Sdn Bhd, and related assets including a palm oil mill. Radiant Response is the owner of certain leasehold plantation land in Teluk Intan, Perak.

Malpac’s civil litigation relating to its Teluk Intan plantation assets goes back as far as 2002.
 
In April 2002, MCSB signed the S&P agreements with Yong and Cheang to dispose of Radiant Response, together with two parcels of land and the repayment of Radiant Response’s shareholder’s loan of RM30.6 million — which was part of a composite transaction and encompassing the palm oil mill situated on part of the plantation and owned by a third party lessee — for a total consideration of RM53 million.
 
In March 2014, the Federal Court dismissed the group’s application for a judicial review, which was then followed by another series of litigation at both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
 
Malpac reported a net profit of RM5.9 million on the back of a RM4 million revenue for its second quarter ended Dec 31, 2022, versus a net loss of RM3.52 million on revenue of RM1.31 million revenue a year earlier.

Malpac's share price closed unchanged at RM1.05 on Monday (April 3), valuing the group at RM78.8 million.