INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD
Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of YTL Corporation Berhad, which comprise the statements of financial position as at 30 June 2024 of the Group and of the Company, and the income statements, statements of comprehensive income, statements of changes in equity and statements of cash flows of the Group and of the Company for the year then ended, and notes to the financial statements, including material accounting policy information, as set out on pages 107 to 301.
In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Group and of the Company as at 30 June 2024, and of their financial performance and their cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards, International Financial Reporting Standards and the requirements of the Companies Act 2016 in Malaysia.
Basis for Opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with approved standards on auditing in Malaysia and International Standards on Auditing. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Independence and Other Ethical Responsibilities
We are independent of the Group and of the Company in accordance with the By-Laws (on Professional Ethics, Conduct and Practice) of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (“By-Laws”) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (“IESBA Code”), and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with the By-Laws and the IESBA Code.
Key Audit Matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the financial statements of the Group and of the Company for the current year. We have determined that there are no key audit matters to communicate in our report of the financial statements of the Company. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements of the Group and of the Company as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Key Audit Matters (Continued)
1. Impairment assessment of goodwill
The risk
We refer to Notes 2(i), 2(o)(ii), 3(a) and 19 to the financial statements.
As at 30 June 2024, goodwill arising on consolidation amounted to RM9,194 million. The goodwill is primarily allocated to the power generation business in Singapore, water and sewerage business in the United Kingdom (“UK”) and listed cement business in Malaysia as disclosed in Note 19 to the financial statements.
The recoverable amounts of the cash generating units (“CGU”) are determined based on value-in-use (“VIU”). The key assumptions and sensitivities are disclosed in Notes 19(a) and 19(b) to the financial statements respectively.
We focused on this area as the estimation of the recoverable amount is inherently uncertain and requires significant judgement on the future cash flows, terminal growth rate and the discount rate applied to the projected cash flows.
Our response:
Our and component auditors’ audit procedures included the following:
・ agreed the cash flow projections of each CGU to the financial budgets approved by the Directors;
・ compared historical forecasting for the current financial year to actual results achieved to ascertain the reasonableness of management’s estimates;
・ discussed with management the key assumptions used in the respective cash flow projections and compared the revenue growth rates to the historical performance of the respective CGUs;
・ checked the reasonableness of the discount rates and terminal growth rates with the assistance of valuation experts by benchmarking to the respective industries; and
・ checked the sensitivity analysis performed by management over discount rates, terminal growth rates, and revenue growth rates, used in deriving the respective cash flow projections.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Key Audit Matters (Continued)
2. Acquisition of Ranhill Utilities Berhad
The risk
We refer to Notes 2(j) and 15(a)(iv) to the financial statements.
On 28 May 2024, the Group entered into an unconditional share sale agreement with Tan Sri Hamdan Mohamad, Hamdan Inc. (Labuan) Pte Ltd and Hamdan (L) Foundation for the acquisition of ordinary shares in Ranhill Utilities Berhad (“Ranhill”), representing a 31.42% equity interest, for a cash consideration of RM405.2 million. This acquisition increases the Group’s aggregate direct shareholding to 53.19%, together with previously held interest in Ranhill of 21.77%.
Accordingly, the Group accounts Ranhill as a subsidiary of the Group in accordance with MFRS 3 “Business Combinations”. The fair value of net identifiable assets acquired on the date of acquisition was assessed via a preliminary purchase price allocation (“PPA”) exercise.
We focused on the above as the assumptions used in determining the fair values of net identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed are inherently uncertain and requires significant judgement.
Our response:
Our and component auditors’ audit procedures included the following:
・ assessed management assessment on whether the Group has obtained control over Ranhill;
・ assessed the basis for determining the fair values of identifiable assets and liabilities assumed at the date of acquisition;
・ checked the calculation of provisional goodwill arising from the acquisition of Ranhill, being the difference between the total purchase consideration and fair value of previously held equity interest, and the fair values of net identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed; and
・ checked the appropriateness of disclosures in the financial statements.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Key Audit Matters (Continued)
3. Impairment assessment of property, plant and equipment (“PPE”) of the telecommunications business
The risk
We refer to Notes 2(g), 3(c) and 11 to the financial statements.
The Group has PPE related to its telecommunications business division with aggregate carrying values of RM1,889.4 million as at 30 June 2024.
The Group performed an impairment assessment on the carrying values of the PPE due to the losses recorded by the business division which is an impairment indicator.
The impairment assessment was performed by management using fair value less costs of disposal (“FVLCD”) cash flows which require significant judgement as the timing and quantum of the cash flows is dependent on the achievement of the forecast financial budgets which are dependent on the use of key assumptions comprising its growth targets, and sourcing contract renewals.
Our response:
Our and component auditors’ audit procedures included the following:
・ discussed with management the assumptions underlying the cash flow projections;
・ assessed key assumptions including the discount rate, average service revenue growth rate, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (“EBITDA”) margin, long-term growth rate and useful life of the assets by comparing these assumptions against publicly available macroeconomic and industry data, as well as historical data and market expectations from industry reports, where available;
・ assisted by a valuation expert in assessing the assumptions used and the appropriateness of the methodology adopted by management for impairment assessment;
・ assessed the reliability of the approved budget by comparing the previous years’ approved budget against past trends of actual results; and
・ checked the sensitivity analysis performed by management by stress testing the discount rate, average service revenue growth rate and terminal year EBITDA margin.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Key Audit Matters (Continued)
4. Capitalisation policy on infrastructure assets of the water and sewerage business in the United Kingdom
The risk
We refer to Notes 2(g), 3(b) and 11 to the financial statements.
As at 30 June 2024, the net book value of infrastructure assets of the water and sewerage business division in the United Kingdom amounted to RM10,691.8 million and cost capitalised during the financial year was RM2,529.2 million. This cost comprised capital expenditure incurred by the business division to meet the development and regulatory requirements of the business, employee and overhead costs that are directly attributable to the construction of the assets.
There is significant judgement involved in determining whether costs incurred, specifically employee and overhead costs meet the relevant criteria for capitalisation in accordance with MFRS 116, “Property, Plant and Equipment”.
Our response:
Our and component auditors’ audit procedures included the following:
・ tested the operating effectiveness of the controls over authorisation of selected projects’ infrastructure assets and identification of capital expenditures attributable to the infrastructure assets;
・ reviewed the nature of costs incurred in relation to employee and overhead costs through discussion with management and corroborated with supporting information provided and checked whether the costs incurred met the capitalisation criteria in accordance with MFRS 116;
・ sampled capital expenditure costs in the year and agreed the costs to underlying support, including timesheets and invoices; and
・ challenged management’s assumptions used in allocating certain costs between capital and operating expenditure. Specifically, this has included assessing the appropriate capitalisation of the various types of costs such as overheads, interest, and infrastructure maintenance.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Key Audit Matters (Continued)
5. Impairment assessment on trade receivables of the water and sewerage business in the United Kingdom
The risk
We refer to Notes 2(q), 3(d), 22 and 40(d) to the financial statements.
As at 30 June 2024, trade receivables of the water and sewerage business in the United Kingdom amounted to RM613.9 million, net of expected credit losses charges of RM390.4 million.
The Group has estimated the expected credit losses of trade receivables on a portfolio basis for the year based on the historical cash collection trends and economic trends, which are subjective in nature.
We focused on this area given the use of significant estimates and judgement in determining the appropriate level of expected credit losses for trade receivables.
Our response:
Our and component auditors’ audit procedures included the following:
・ tested the operating effectiveness of the key information technology systems used for generating billings and cash collection data used for the expected credit losses assessment and the controls over assessment;
・ performed substantive testing to ensure the completeness and accuracy of the reports used to populate the expected credit loss provision calculation;
・ obtained the historical cash collection trends of each ageing bracket of the trade receivables and compared against the percentage of expected credit losses used by management against each ageing bracket;
・ checked the appropriateness of the forward-looking forecasts assumptions which may affect the collectability of trade receivables used to determine the expected credit losses;
・ compared the level of expected credit losses charged against similar companies within the industry in the UK; and
・ developed expectations to generate a range for the estimated value and compared against the estimates and assumptions set forth by management to ensure no management bias over the expected credit losses.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Key Audit Matters (Continued)
6. Metered income accrual for the water and sewerage business in the United Kingdom
The risk
We refer to Notes 2(d)(i)(b), 3(i) and 4 to the financial statements.
The Group has recorded a metered income accrual of RM755.4 million as at 30 June 2024 relating to revenue from the provision of water services to customers on water meters that had not been read at the year-end date.
Revenue recognition in respect of the accrued income is particularly judgemental. It arises in relation to the unbilled income accrual from metered water services. This income accrual requires an estimation of the amount of unbilled charges at the period end. It is calculated using system generated information based on previous customer volume usage.
Given the range of factors underlying the estimate, there is a risk that the metered income accrual and revenue could be misstated.
Our response:
Our and component auditors’ audit procedures included the following:
・ obtained an understanding of the process for the supply of measured services, meter reading and related billing;
・ tested the key controls linked to system generated information and around the estimation process for measured revenue;
・ compared the accrued income to bills raised post year end and compared management's history of estimating the accrued income balance to bills raised in the subsequent year to assess the accuracy of accrual income balance;
・ recomputed the accrued income based on customers' historical usage data for selected samples;
・ performed analytical procedures by comparing revenue balances for the year against expectation and obtaining support for significant variances;
・ corroborated the key assumptions and estimates made by management in recognising revenue, by obtaining internal and external data on factors that influence demand from customers;
・ performed journal testing over targeted manual entries related to revenue, particularly those recorded close to the year-end; and
・ obtained an understanding of manual adjustments made to accrued income and reviewed the underlying assumptions for those adjustments.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Key Audit Matters (Continued)
7. Revenue recognition from construction contracts
The risk
We refer to Notes 2(d)(i)(e), 3(h) and 4 to the financial statements.
The Group recorded revenue from its construction activities amounting RM787.0 million.
We focused on this area because the accounting for construction contracts activities is inherently complex as it involves the use of significant estimates and judgements made by the management which includes the following:
a) Estimation of the total budgeted project costs;
b) Determination of the progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligations and overall progress of the Group’s projects;
c) Consideration of variation orders and claims with the Group’s customers; and
d) Estimation of damages in transaction price arising from liquidated and ascertained damages.
Our response:
Our audit procedures included the following:
・ obtained an understanding over construction project budget approvals and revenue recognition process;
・ evaluated the management’s key judgements used in the estimation of budgeted construction contract costs by examining documentation with subcontractors, historical evidence or results and retrospective review of these estimates;
・ verified the budgeted revenue by examining the construction projects’ approved letters of award;
・ discussed with the project team to understand the nature of the variation orders and claims included in the budgeted revenue and inspected the correspondences from the customers;
・ inspected the costs incurred to date and compared against sub-contractor claim certificates and suppliers’ invoices to corroborate the projects’ progress towards satisfaction of the performance obligations and reasonableness of the estimated project budget;
・ performed re-computations on the calculation of the stage of completion to ascertain there is no mathematical error in the profit recognition; and
・ reviewed the stage of completion of all on-going construction projects and reviewed the extension of time approved by the customers to determine if any adjustment to the transaction price is required arising from the estimation for liquidated and ascertained damages.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Information Other than the Financial Statements and Auditors’ Report Thereon
The Directors of the Company are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, but does not include the financial statements of the Group and of the Company and our auditors’ report thereon.
Our opinion on the financial statements of the Group and of the Company does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements of the Group and of the Company, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements of the Group and of the Company or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.
If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
Responsibilities of the Directors for the Financial Statements
The Directors of the Company are responsible for the preparation of financial statements of the Group and of the Company that give a true and fair view in accordance with Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards, International Financial Reporting Standards and the requirements of the Companies Act 2016 in Malaysia. The Directors are also responsible for such internal control as the Directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements of the Group and of the Company that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements of the Group and of the Company, the Directors are responsible for assessing the Group’s and the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Directors either intend to liquidate the Group or the Company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements of the Group and of the Company as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with approved standards on auditing in Malaysia and International Standards on Auditing will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements (Continued)
As part of an audit in accordance with approved standards on auditing in Malaysia and International Standards on Auditing, we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:
・ Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements of the Group and of the Company, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
・ Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s and of the Company’s internal control.
・ Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the Directors.
・ Conclude on the appropriateness of the Directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s and the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditors’ report to the related disclosures in the financial statements of the Group and of the Company or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditors’ report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Group and the Company to cease to continue as a going concern.
・ Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements of the Group and of the Company, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
・ Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the Group to express an opinion on the financial statements of the Group. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the group audit. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements (Continued)
We communicate with the Directors regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
We also provide the Directors with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with the Directors, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the financial statements of the Group and of the Company for the current year and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditors’ report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.
Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements
In accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2016 in Malaysia, we report that the subsidiaries of which we have not acted as auditors, are disclosed in Note 46 to the financial statements.
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT
TO THE MEMBERS OF YTL CORPORATION BERHAD (CONTINUED)
Other Matters
This report is made solely to the members of the Company, as a body, in accordance with Section 266 of the Companies Act 2016 in Malaysia and for no other purpose. We do not assume responsibility to any other person for the content of this report.
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HLB LER LUM CHEW PLT |
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201906002362 & AF 0276 |
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Chartered Accountants |
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CHEW LOONG JIN |
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03279/03/2025 J |
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Chartered Accountant |
Dated : 26 September 2024
Kuala Lumpur
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