Hong Leong Bank, Sime Darby, Mah Sing, AmBank, Vizione, FGV, MCE, BIMB, Scientex, CIMB, Pestech, MPI, MRCB, Iqzan, Cahya Mata Sarawak, Lay Hong, M3 Technologies, Ranhill Utilities,
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 30): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies in focus on Wednesday (Sept 1) may include Hong Leong Bank Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, Mah Sing Group Bhd, AMMB Holdings Bhd, Vizione Holdings Bhd, FGV Holdings Bhd, MCE Holdings Bhd, BIMB Holdings Bhd, Scientex Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Pestech International Bhd, Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, Iqzan Holdings Bhd, Cahya Mata Sarawak, Lay Hong Bhd, M3 Technologies (Asia) Bhd, Ranhill Utilities Bhd and Ireka Corp Bhd.
Hong Leong Bank Bhd's net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2021 rose 21.09% to RM689.48 million, from RM569.42 million a year ago, mainly due to higher share of profit from associate companies and net income. Its quarterly revenue also grew 11% to RM1.33 billion from RM1.2 billion a year earlier. The group has declared a final dividend of 35.22 sen per share, bringing the total dividend to 50 sen per share for the financial year ended June 30, 2021, with a dividend payout ratio of 36%.
Sime Darby Bhd is collaborating with Porshe AG to assemble the latter's sports car for the Malaysian market only. The car will be assembled at Sime Darby's motor vehicle and production and facility — which will be the first assembly plant of the German sports car manufacturer outside of Europe — with production slated to start in 2022.
Mah Sing Group Bhd's net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 more than tripled to RM40.4 million from RM12.82 million a year ago, underpinned by higher property sales. Its quarterly revenue also rose 46.9% to RM438.67 million from RM298.62 million a year ago.
AMMB Holdings Bhd (AmBank) today announced a 5.9% growth year-on-year in its net profit for the first financial quarter ended June 30, 2021 to RM386.6 million, mainly driven by higher net income and lower other operating expenses, despite its quarterly revenue slipping 5.3% to RM2.1 billion from the RM2.21 billion it recorded in the same quarter last year.
Vizione Holdings Bhd has secured a two-year RM116.5 million contract to build a four-star hotel in Langkawi, awarded by Inspirasi Langkawi Sdn Bhd. Besides 238 hotel rooms, the 14-storey building will also comprise six serviced apartments, five office units and three shop units.
FGV Holdings Bhd posted soaring year-on-year growth of over 16 times in its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 to RM338.82 million, from RM20.55 million previously, mainly attributed to increased palm products' margin, improved gross profit margin for its sugar business, as well as higher throughput and cargo volume handled by its logistics business. Quarterly revenue stood at RM4.68 billion, up by 42.1% from RM3.29 billion recorded in the same quarter last year.
MCE Holdings Bhd via its wholly-owned subsidiary Multi-Code Electronics Industries (M) Bhd has secured contracts to supply various mechanical parts for new Perodua car models. The projects are expected to generate total revenue of approximately RM17.59 million for MCE, while the estimated total investment cost is RM1.83 million.
BIMB Holdings Bhd's net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 rose 21% year-on-year to RM184.6 million, thanks to the absence of modification loss in the quarter compared with the previous corresponding quarter. Revenue for the same period was up 9.6% to RM1.25 billion.
Scientex Bhd is expanding its Klang Valley footprint via the proposed acquisition of over 250 acres of agriculture land near Klang and Banting for RM207.56 million. The packaging manufacturer and property developer said it is buying the freehold land in Jenjarom from Seriemas Development Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd. The group said it plans to launch a mixed development project on the land with gross development value yet to be determined.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 retreated 55.88% to RM1.08 billion from RM2.46 billion in the immediate preceding quarter. Its quarterly revenue dropped 21.59% quarter-on-quarter to RM4.67 billion, from RM5.96 billion in the immediate preceding quarter. The group has proposed a first interim dividend of 10.44 sen per share, to which it has proposed a dividend reinvestment scheme to allow its shareholders to reinvest their dividends in new CIMB shares.
Integrated electrical power technology group Pestech International Bhd has proposed to undertake a bonus issue of 191.07 million new shares on the basis of two bonus shares for every eight existing shares held on an entitlement date to be determined later. As at Aug 27, 2021, Pestech's issued share capital stood at RM212.67 million comprising 764.29 million shares, including 3.12 million treasury shares. Upon completion of the proposed bonus issue, the issued share capital will remain at RM212.67 million but the number of issued shares will increase to 955.37 million.
Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) posted a net profit of RM75.1 million for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2021, up 53.13% from RM49.05 million a year prior, mainly due to higher revenue across all segments and effective cost management. Quarterly earnings expanded 32.53% to RM537.34 million, from RM405.45 million a year ago, on the back of its Asia, US and Europe segments growing by 25%, 30% and 60% respectively against the corresponding quarter last year.
Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd's (MRCB) net loss narrowed to RM32.42 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 against RM220.9 million in the previous corresponding quarter last year, while quarterly revenue grew 35% to RM225.75 million from RM167.18 million a year ago. The improved earnings were attributed to the RM197.4 million provision made for the impairment of contract assets, trades and other receivables it incurred a year ago as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Iqzan Holdings Bhd, formerly known as Ire-Tex Corp Bhd, said today that its external auditor Messrs Nexia SSY PLT has issued a disclaimer of opinion on the packaging material company's audited financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2021. Its auditor said it has not been able to obtain sufficient audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion on the group's financial statements.
Cahya Mata Sarawak's net profit more than doubled to RM47.39 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, from RM16.71 million a year ago, on better contributions from all its core businesses (cement, trading and property development), except the road maintenance division. Revenue increased 32.26% to RM185 million, from RM139.88 million in the same period last year. For the first half, Cahya Mata Sarawak's net profit increased 269.4% to RM125.19 million, from RM33.99 million in the previous January-June period.
Egg producer Lay Hong Bhd, whose brands include Nutriplus and Wise Choice, saw its net loss widen to RM14.35 million in its first financial quarter ended June 30, 2022, from RM7.46 million in the preceding quarter, due to a 3.2% decline in revenue to RM229.43 million. On a year-on-year basis, the group slipped into the red compared with a net profit of RM5.19 million a year earlier, with revenue down 3.7% from RM238.19 million.
M3 Technologies (Asia) Bhd's external auditor Ecovis Malaysia PLT has expressed a qualified opinion on the company's audited financial statements for the financial period ended March 31, 2021. Ecovis Malaysia said the basis for its qualified opinion was due to the ACE Market-listed mobile value added services provider appointing an independent investigative auditor to review specific transactions and related accounting entries in financial years 2017 and 2018 to ascertain whether there were any fraudulent transactions related to M3 Technologies' business operations involving a former director and the potential financial impact.
Ranhill Utilities Bhd posted a net profit of RM9 million for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, falling nearly 32% from RM13.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year, although its quarterly revenue was nearly flat. Quarterly revenue came in at RM365.6 million compared with RM368.9 million a year ago. On a quarter-to-quarter comparison, the group's net profit was 23.3% higher than the RM7.3 million posted in the preceding quarter, which saw a revenue of RM363.8 million.
Construction and property group Ireka Corp Bhd's external auditor Crowe Malaysia PLT has expressed a qualified opinion with indication on material uncertainty on its ability to continue as a going concern in view of its audited financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2021. Crowe Malaysia said it was unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence on the carrying amount of the group's investment in Aseana Properties Ltd and its subsidiaries (ASPL Group) as at March 31, 2021 and the group's share of ASPL Group's profit after taxation for the financial year 2021 because it was unable to obtain access to the financial information, management, and the auditors of ASPL Group within the audit period.
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/hong-leong-bank-sime-darby-mah-sing-ambank-vizione-fgv-mce-bimb-scientex-cimb-pestech-mpi
