MSM (5202) MALAYSIA HOLDINGS BERHAD shares jump 25% ahead of Aidilfitri holiday
KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in loss-making MSM Holdings Bhd jumped 25.22%, or as much as 15 sen today, ahead of the Aidilfitri holiday next weekend, which could see an uptick in sugar demand abroad and in Malaysia.
As at 11.42am today, the consumer stock was traded at 72 sen after hovering between 58 sen and 74 sen, with 111.16 million shares changing hands. This gave the refined sugar manufacturer a market capitalisation of RM506.15 million.
MSM hit a low of 25 sen on March 19, a day after the movement control order (MCO) was enforced. The stock has since pared some of its losses but is still down 20% year to date.
The group slipped into the red again after it posted a net loss of RM299.77 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2019 (FY19), compared to a net profit of RM35.67 million for FY18. The group recorded a net loss of RM32.57 million for FY17.
This was amid continuous depletion of its average selling prices (ASPs) and a decline in export volume throughout the year.
MSM, which is 51%-owned by FGV Holdings Bhd, is the market leader in Malaysia’s refined sugar business with the lion’s share of 59%, according to its website. In 2018, the group produced 964,739 tonnes of refined sugar, of which 11.36% was catered for its export markets, including Singapore, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
At present, MSM’s annual production capacity is up to 2.25 million tonnes of refined sugar.
Last week, the group announced the appointment of four new board members, namely former Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Dr Abd Hapiz Abdullah, former UMW Holdings Bhd president and group CEO Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, Datuk Muthanna Abdullah and Choy Khai Choon.
Abd Hapiz sits on the board of Perdana Petroleum Bhd as an independent and non-executive director. Syed Hisham is a Bermaz Auto Bhd (BAuto) independent and non-executive director, while Muthanna Abdullah sits on the board of Sapura Resources Bhd.
Choy is an independent and non-executive director of Hap Seng Plantations Holdings Bhd and Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd.
The four research houses that track MSM have rated the company with a “hold” call and target prices (TPs) of between 44 sen and 88 sen.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/msm-shares-jump-25-ahead-aidilfitri-holiday
