KUALA LUMPUR (June 14): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, the companies that may be in focus on Thursday (June 15) could be the following: Sunway, Astro, Berjaya Food, Bison, Poh Huat, MISC, Bumi Armada, JAG and Stone Master.
Property developer Sunway Bhd plans to list its healthcare unit within the next five years, as the group further builds and strengthens its medical brand, according to the group’s founder and chairman Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah.
Cheah said the group plans to add five more hospitals to its portfolio, estimated to cost approximately RM1 billion over five years. The group is also looking to set up two hospitals in Penang, and one each in Perak, Johor and Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, Sunway announced a proposal to undertake a bonus issue of up to 2.8 billion new shares in the company on the basis of four bonus shares for every three existing Sunway shares held, on an entitlement date to be determined later.
It also proposed a bonus issue of up to 631 million free warrants in Sunway, on the basis of three warrants for every 10 existing Sunway shares held on the same entitlement date as the proposed bonus issue.
Pay TV service provider Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended April 30, 2017 (1QFY18) slipped 3.14% to RM195.8 million from RM202.2 million last year on reduced earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), and rise in net finance costs.
The group declared its first interim three sen dividend per share for the financial year ending Jan 31, 2018 (FY18) that would be paid on July 14. The ex-date is June 30 and entitlement date is July 4.
Revenue for the quarter dropped 2.7% to RM1.33 billion in the financial quarter under review compared to RM1.36 billion because of lower licensing, subscription and advertising revenue.
Berjaya Food Bhd (BFood) fell into the red for the first time in its fourth quarter ended April 30, 2017 (4QFY17), with a net loss of RM3.37 million or 90 sen a share, as it undertook an impairment exercise in the face of a slowing economy.
It netted a profit of RM3.17 million or RM1.05 sen a share in the same quarter a year ago.
BFood, commonly known for being the operator of brands like 'Starbucks Coffee' and 'Kenny Rogers Roasters', blamed the losses to economic slowdown, which compelled the management to undertake measures to curtail further losses in the future, such as the closure of non-performing restaurants and outlets. These led to the impairments of fixed assets and intangible assets.
In spite of the poorer performance, the group recommended a fourth interim dividend of one sen per share, payable on July 28 this year. Quarterly revenue, meanwhile, grew 9% to RM151.42 million in 4QFY17, from RM139.05 million last year.
For the full financial year ended April 30, 2017 (FY17), BFood’s net profit almost halved to RM11.35 million, from RM21.29 million in FY16, despite a 9% revenue growth to RM605.44 million from RM554.36 million.
Bison Consolidated Bhd’s net profit in the second financial quarter ended April 30, 2017 (2QFY17) grew 55% to RM6.2 million, from RM4 million a year earlier, on intensive promotional activities as the company consistently varied its product offerings.
In view of the better results, the company declared a single-tier dividend of two sen per share for FY17, to be paid on a date to be fixed, up 0.5 sen from the 1.5 sen it had declared in the same period last year.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Bison — which operates a chain of press and convenience retail outlets — said revenue in 2QFY17 grew 23% to RM79.26 million from RM64.28 million a year ago.
For the cumulative six months of FY17 (1HFY17), Bison’s net profit rose 29% to RM12.56 million from RM9.77 million, on improved margins of products on the back of higher sales volumes and more collaboration with suppliers. Revenue grew 23% to RM155.49 million, from RM126 million.
Furniture manufacturer Poh Huat Resources Holdings Bhd's net profit in the second financial quarter ended April 30, 2017 (2QFY17) grew 2.7 times or 174% to RM10.6 million from RM3.88 million a year earlier, on higher shipping volume of furniture exported from its Vietnamese and Malaysian operations, which led to higher revenue.
Revenue for the quarter grew 20% to RM127.65 million from RM106.46 million in 2QFY16, its Bursa Malaysia filing today showed.
For the cumulative six months of FY17 (1HFY17), Poh Huat's net profit jumped 57% to RM28.28 million from RM18.01 million, while revenue climbed 13% to RM291.11 million from RM257.52 million.
In a separate filing, Poh Huat said it has redesignated its managing director Tay Kim Huat as group chief executive officer (CEO), effective today. Tay is the co-founder of Poh Huat Industries Sdn Bhd, which is the main operating subsidiary of the group.
MISC Bhd has appointed Liza Mustapha as its non-independent non-executive director. Liza is currently Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) upstream business chief financial officer (CFO).
Shipping company MISC said Liza's appointment would be effective July 1 this year. Liza has been Petronas upstream business CFO since April 2013.
Offshore oilfield services provider Bumi Armada Bhd has inked a joint venture (JV) with two parties, Shapoorji Pallonji and Co Pvt Ltd (SPCL) and Cypress Energy Company Limited (CECL), to secure the award of a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) project in Ghana.
The JV company, which is known as Bumi Armada Shapoorji Pallonji Ghana Ltd (BASPG) was established on June 5 between Bumi Armada’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Bumi Armada Marine Holdings Ltd (BAMHL), SPCL’s wholly-owned subsidiary Shapoorji Pallonji Oil and Gas Pvt Ltd (SPOG), and CECL, Bumi Armada said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia today.
The JV will see BAMHL, SPOG and CECL combining their capabilities and expertise, with each party holding 45%, 45% and 10% stakes respectively.
JAG Bhd expects revenue to grow by up to 30% this year from a year earlier on more electronic-waste (e-waste) management contracts.
Chairperson and executive director Datin Stacey Tan told reporters that JAG had secured 40% more e-waste contracts, and that management hopes to register at least RM100 million in revenue for financial year ending Dec 31, 2017 (FY17).
Tan said JAG, which recently made its foray into property development, expects to equalise the company's e-waste and property development income contribution. She said the group aims to launch up to three projects within five years and expand its landbank.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court has ruled in favour of marble and granite products maker Stone Master Corp Bhd's major shareholders, indicating that the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held on May 30 was valid.
The latest ruling, however, sees the immediate removal of Stone Master's managing director Datuk Koh Mui Tee and executive director Datuk Lee Hwa Cheng from the company's board of directors and the company.
At the same time, it sees the appointment of eight new directors, namely Ma Jee Choong, Datuk Abdul Aziz Mohamed, Low Eng Tack, Ng Boon Siong, Tan Wee Hock, Ananda Kumar Ramayah, Foo Chooi Wai and Leong Kam Soon.
The court this morning set aside an ex-parte injunction order that had been granted to Koh on June 2 that prevented the implementation of the resolutions passed at Stone Master's recent EGM.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/sunway-astro-berjaya-food-bison-poh-huat-misc-bumi-armada-jag-and-stone-master
