KUALA LUMPUR (April 20): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies in focus on tomorrow (Friday, April 21) may include: Eversafe Rubber, Aeon Credit, Maybank, MISC, Serba Dinamik, Public Bank, Carlsberg, Gabungan AQRS, KPJ Healthcare, WZ Satu, Perwaja, MAHB, Meda and BAT
Eversafe Rubber Bhd will begin trading on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia tomorrow.
The company is involved in the development, manufacturing, and distribution of tyre retreading materials and tyre retreading operations, operating across the value chain.
It raised about RM17.28 million from its initial public offering, which will be mostly spent on upgrading its facility in Ipoh, Perak.
Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd is offering asset-backed personal financing for the first time via its partnership with HelloGold Sdn Bhd to grow the non-bank lender Aeon Credit's customer base.
HelloGold is a syariah-compliant mobile-based digital platform where consumers can purchase investment grade gold at current market prices at a lower cost. The platform focuses on consumers from the middle-income bracket.
Aeon Credit managing director Kenji Fujita said the group had signed the collaboration agreement with financial technology (fintech) start-up HelloGold to offer asset-backed personal financing products to subscribers of HelloGold's online gold savings platform.
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) launched Maybank2u Pay, a platform to support electronic commerce (e-commerce) transactions.
Maybank's Malaysia community financial services head Datuk Hamirullah Boorhan said with the tremendous potential in the e-commerce space Maybank2u Pay is part of the group's initiative to enable electronic payment capabilities for e-commerce entities targeted at small and medium enterprises to tap into this and boost their revenue.
MISC Bhd expects its petroleum segment to remain profitable in FY17 despite the subdued outlook towards the petroleum spot charter rate this year, said the group chief executive Yee Yang Chien.
Presently, 57% or 46 of MISC's existing petroleum vessels run on spot charter.
MISC currently operates a fleet of 121 vessels comprising 78 petroleum tankers, 30 LNG units, and 13 chemical tankers, as well as 14 offshore floating facilities.
It also has an existing order book of eight additional tankers — five for petroleum, of which two are lined up for long-term contracts, while the rest are for liquefied natural gas.
For its offshore segment, the company is currently eyeing three to four floating production, storage and offloading related contracts involving greenfield projects and asset acquisition this year.
Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd has proposed to team up with UK-based Nicol & Andrew Group Plc (N&A) to collaborate on maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and in-situ or on-site services for the Malaysian oil and gas, petrochemical, oleochemical, marine, plantation, energy, power production and distribution, water and waste water as well as general industries.
Serba Dinamik said the two sides have agreed to form an exclusive partnership and sole agency for marketing and performing N&A's patented and non-patented technologies for in-situ or on-site machining.
Both parties intend to form a tie-up for provision of finishing services and sole agency for selling and distributing N&A parts and products in Malaysia.
Public Bank Bhd reported a 1.6% rise in the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 net profit at RM1.25 billion from RM1.23 billion a year earlier on higher net interest and Islamic banking income. Lower taxes also led to higher net profit while revenue climbed to RM5.03 billion from RM5.01 billion.
It said the higher earnings were mainly due to higher net interest income, up by 8.3%, and higher income from Islamic banking business, up by 8.9%. These were partially offset by higher operating overheads due to more business volume, lower investment and non-operational foreign exchange income.
Public Bank is looking at organic expansion to further grow its retail banking leveraging on its strong corporate branding as a reputable, safe and efficient commercial bank. The group will also capitalise on opportunities in its overseas operations to further enhance its business
Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd expects growth in revenue this year despite poor consumer sentiments and contraband alcohol affecting sales.
Its managing director Lars Lehmann said the group plans to drive growth through the introduction of a new revenue stream this year, and the fortification of its premium brands.
Carlsberg's premium products and Carlsberg Smooth Draught beer brand are gaining popularity as the premium brands are growing faster than the market at double-digit due to the higher price, and smooth draught is doing well in the mainstream segment market.
For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016, Carlsberg reported a 5% fall in net profit to RM204.98 million, from RM215.91 million in the previous year, though revenue grew 1% to RM1.68 billion from RM1.66 billion.
Net profit was impacted by the group's share of loss in an associate, one-off tax adjustments, and deferred tax expense.
Former Gabungan AQRS Bhd executive director and deputy chairman Alvin Ng Chun Kooi has ceased to be a substantial shareholder in the company, after disposing of 5.66 million shares or a 1.4% stake.
Chun Kooi disposed of 5.66 million shares via an off-market transaction on April 17.
At the same time, his brother, Ng Chun Seong, disposed of his entire 13.44 million shares or a 3.4% stake in the company, according to a separate filing.
Both filings did not disclose the price of the transactions.
Following the disposal, Chun Kooi now holds 12.06 million shares or a 3% stake in the company.
KPJ Healthcare Bhd has proposed a subdivision of every one existing share into four subdivided shares to promote trading liquidity.
KPJ Healthcare said its share capital as at April 18 was 1.06 billion shares and subsequent to the share split, the enlarged share capital would grow to at least 4.26 billion shares.
Assuming the full exercise of the outstanding warrants and employees’ share option scheme, the enlarged number of issued shares will be 4.76 billion subdivided shares upon completion of the proposed share split.
As the corporate exercise will result in an adjustment to its market price, the group’s subdivided shares will be more affordable, and potentially more appealing to a wider group of public shareholders.
The group expects to complete the share split by the third quarter this year, after it obtains its shareholders’ approvals.
WZ Satu Bhd's net profit grew 9% in the second quarter ended Feb 28, 2017 (2QFY17) to RM5.33 million from RM4.89 million a year ago, thanks to better performance in its manufacturing and oil and gas (O&G) operations.
WZ Satu said its cold-drawn bright steel shafts manufacturing business turned its operations around by recording a profit before tax of RM1.3 million for 2QFY17, against a loss before tax of RM900,000 a year ago.
Meanwhile, the group's O&G operation saw profit before tax jump dramatically to RM2.6 million for the quarter under review, from RM100,000 in 2QFY16.
During 2QFY17, WZ Satu posted revenue of RM137.99 million, 21% higher than the RM113.98 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
Cumulatively, the group's six-month period ended Feb 28, 2017 (1HFY17) recorded a net profit of RM13.83 million, which was 48% higher than RM9.33 million in 1HFY16. Its revenue expanded 23.7% over the same period to RM268.16 million, from RM216.86 million.
After being on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia for close to nine years, loss-making steel manufacturer Perwaja Holdings Bhd will be de-listed on May 4.
Perwaja, which fell into PN17 status in November 2013, said it failed to submit its regularisation plan within the stipulated timeframe and subsequently had its application for time extension for submission rejected by Bursa.
However, if it files an appeal by April 28, the de-listing will be deferred pending the decision on the appeal, added Perwaja in a bourse filing.
The group said that upon its de-listing, it will continue to exist but as an unlisted entity.
A company that undertook construction work at the Penang International Airport is suing Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) for RM43.99 million over alleged losses pertaining to the work.
MAHB said Syarikat Pembinaan Anggerik Sdn Bhd is claiming for losses arising from development and upgrading work awarded to the firm in 2010, and construction and completion of site office, central utilities building and airside drainage work awarded in 2011.
In a bourse filling, MAHB said its lawyer's preliminary view is that the company has a reasonably good prospect of defending the claims.
Meda Inc Bhd is disposing of its hotel The Summit Hotel Bukit Mertajam in Penang for RM20 million to partially fund its working capital requirements.
Meda disclosed the price represents a premium of 45.14% over the market value of the property of RM13 million as ascribed by LaurelCap Sdn Bhd on Dec 30, 2016.
The proposed disposal will result in the group realising a gain of RM6.05 million, it added.
Meda said its wholly-owned subsidiary ZKP Development Sdn Bhd has signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement with Teraju Menang Sdn Bhd for the proposed disposal.
The group plans to use net proceeds from the proposed disposal, which are estimated to be RM18.27 million, for working capital including payment to creditors, administrative expenses and other operating expenses such as advertising and promotional activities.
Meda said the move is to dispose of a low-revenue generating asset and to monetise its investment in ZKP and to reinvest the capital into the group's core business activity, which is property development.
The group expects to complete the proposed disposal by early third quarter of this year.
British American Tobacco (M) Bhd's (BAT) earnings shrank further in the first financial quarter ended March 31, 2017 (1QFY17).
BAT announced that its quarterly net profit declined 33% to RM114.23 million or 41.6 sen per share, from RM172.61 million or 61.5 sen per share in the previous corresponding period due to lower sales volume, but was mitigated by lower operating expenses after its cost-efficiency measures last year, which included the winding down of its sole Malaysian factory in Petaling Jaya.
Quarterly revenue dropped 24.5% to RM770.72 million from RM1.02 billion previously.
Due to the lower earnings, BAT declared a lower dividend of 40 sen per share, compared with 55 sen a year ago.
Its main brands include Dunhill, Peter Stuyvesant and Pall Mall.
Looking forward, the group’s expects headwinds with lower consumer sentiment and illegal cigarette trade, which continued to dominate the overall industry volume.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/eversafe-rubber-aeon-credit-maybank-misc-serba-dinamik-public-bank-carlsberg-gabungan-aqrs
