Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd, a subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), declared an income distribution of 3.45 sen per unit for the Amanah Saham Nasional 2 (ASN 2) fund for the financial year ending June 30, 2015.

ASN2 is a variable-priced equity growth fund aimed at generating reasonable dividend yield, as well as, capital appreciation at reasonable risks through diversified portfolios.

PNB Chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abd Hamid said the rate declared was equivalent to the 6.9 sen per unit announced for last year.

"It took into consideration the implemented unit split of one unit to one unit on July 18, 2014," he added.

The 3.45 sen a unit, based on 50 sen par value, is equivalent to 6.90 sen a unit based on a RM1.00 par value.

Speaking at a press conference here today, Ahmad Sarji said the income distribution would involve a total payout of RM44.15 million, an increase of 135.2 per cent, from RM18.77 million paid out for last year.

This will benefit some 19,557 unit holders who collectively account for 1.28 billion units of ASN2, he added.

As at June 26, ASN2 recorded a gross income of RM30.50 million, of which 52.2 per cent or RM30.50 million was derived from dividend income from investments in companies while profit from selling of shares contributed RM10.36 million or 34 per cent.

The balance of RM4.22 million or 13.8 per cent of the total amount accrued from other instruments, he added.

Ahmad Sarji said last year's overall performance was challenging as the fund was affected by the performance of both the local and global share markets.

The benchmark index FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI declined 9.1 per cent from 1,882.71 points recorded on June 30, 2014 to 1,710.47 points on June 26 this year, he said.

Meanwhile, PNB President and Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman said despite the challenging year, looking at the size of the income, ASN2 had the distribution capacity of eight sen a unit or 16 sen before the split.

"We are reserving more this year to allow the fund managers to seize opportunities to look for shares with good values for portfolio restructuring purpose for long-term investment strategy," he said.

All ASN2 transactions have been suspended from June 24 until June 30, 2015 to facilitate the calculation of income distribution and unit holders will be able to update their account beginning July 1 when transaction resumes.

For those unit holders who subscribe through the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the dividend will be credited into their respective EPF accounts.