BAT, Affin Bank, PetChem, PMB Technology, Keck Seng, Bintulu Port, Formosa Prosonic, Paramount, Hap Seng Consolidated, Malayan Flour Mills, MSM, Boustead, Kretam, Chin Well, DNeX, Pestech, Ahmad Zaki Resources, Bintai Kinden, Axiata, CTOS, Power Root and

BAT, Affin Bank, PetChem, PMB Technology, Keck Seng, Bintulu Port, Formosa Prosonic, Paramount, Hap Seng Consolidated, Malayan Flour Mills, MSM, Boustead, Kretam, Chin Well, DNeX, Pestech, Ahmad Zaki Resources, Bintai Kinden, Axiata, CTOS, Power Root and

KUALA LUMPUR (May 27): Here is a brief look at some corporate announcements and news flow on Friday (May 27) involving British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd, Affin Bank Bhd, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd, PMB Technology Bhd, Keck Seng (Malaysia) Bhd, Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd, Formosa Prosonic Industries Bhd, Paramount Corp Bhd, Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd, Malayan Flour Mills Bhd, MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd, Boustead Holdings Bhd, Kretam Holdings Bhd, Chin Well Holdings Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd, Pestech International Bhd, Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd, Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd, Axiata Group Bhd, CTOS Digital Bhd, Power Root Bhd and Cypark Resources Bhd.

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd's (BAT Malaysia) net profit for 1QFY22 fell 17% to RM52.29 million from RM63.11 million in the corresponding quarter, as its revenue for the quarter declined 8% y-o-y to RM521.56 million from RM566.55 million, which it blamed on the Omicron variant having affected purchasing habits, persistently high illicit cigarette incidence and other seasonal factors.

Affin Bank Bhd’s net profit for 1QFY22 doubled to RM142.69 million from RM68.94 million a year ago, on the back of improved net interest income (NII) and Islamic banking income. Net income was marginally lower at RM528.82 million in the quarter under review, down 1.64% y-o-y from RM537.63 million.

Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) delivered a record high quarterly net profit after its first quarter net profit climbed to RM2.08 billion from RM1.46 billion a year earlier on higher product prices amid continued strong demand for the group's petrochemicals. PetChem said revenue rose to RM6.63 billion in 1QFY22 from RM4.68 billion a year earlier.

PMB Technology Bhd secured a solid start to the financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY22) as its net profit surged more than eight-fold to RM54.87 million for 1QFY22, from RM6.63 million a year ago, boosted by 86.6% higher revenue of RM301.97 million from RM161.83 million a year earlier, due to improved contribution from its metallic silicon plant.

Keck Seng (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit for 1QFY22 more than tripled to RM36.1 million from RM10.84 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter. Its revenue for the quarter jumped 62% to RM407.43 million from RM252.01 million. The group declared a dividend of five sen per share for the quarter.

Bintulu Port Holdings Bhd's net profit went up to RM41.06 million in 1QFY22 from RM24.7 million a year ago, as its revenue increased to RM198.11 million from RM184.8 million amid improved performance of port and bulking service business.

Formosa Prosonic Industries Bhd reported a marginal 2.6% increase in net profit year on year (y-o-y) for 1QFY22, which came in at RM21.06 million, despite registering 21% higher revenue y-o-y of RM252.06 million.

Paramount Corp Bhd's net profit for 1QFY22 jumped to RM5.02 million from RM2.29 million a year prior on stronger contribution from its property division amid fewer operational disruptions following the reopening of the economy as the country transitions into endemicity. The property developer’s revenue grew 10.73% to RM168.1 million from RM151.81 million, its bourse filing showed.

Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd saw its net profit rise 29.36% to RM156.3 million for 1QFY22 from RM120.38 million a year ago, as its revenue increased 28.8% to RM1.65 billion from RM1.28 billion in 1QFY21 due to higher contributions from its plantation, automotive, trading and building materials divisions. Hap Seng declared a first interim dividend of 10 sen per share, payable on June 23.

Malayan Flour Mills Bhd saw its net profit for 1QFY22 reduced by 51% to RM20.32 million from RM41.42 million in the corresponding period, hit by lower profits from flour and grain trading segment. This was despite the group recording 18.5% higher revenue in 1QFY22, compared with RM634.88 million in 1QFY21.

MSM Malaysia Holdings Bhd posted a net loss of RM27.68 million in 1QFY22 compared to a net profit of RM31.19 million a year prior, despite its quarterly revenue climbing 15.73% y-o-y to RM595.92 million from RM514.94 million a year ago, due to its gross margin being dragged by higher production costs driven by higher raw sugar, freight and gas costs.

Boustead Holdings Bhd saw its net profit for 1QFY22 soar 574% y-o-y to RM290.3 million, boosted by a one-off gain from the disposal of plantation land of RM364.1 million. The group’s quarterly revenue jumped 65% during the quarter under review to RM3.44 billion. The property and industrial division, trading, finance and investment division, plantation division and the pharmaceutical division contributed higher revenue to the group overall.

Kretam Holdings Bhd's net profit in 1QFY22 leapt 253.3% y-o-y to RM45.7 million from RM12.9 million a year ago, with improvements in both the plantation and mill division. Revenue increased 59% y-o-y to RM246.5 million from RM154.9 million, again as both segments grew.

Chin Well Holdings Bhd saw its net profits for the third quarter ended March 31, 2022 (3QFY22) soar by 274% y-o-y to RM63.4 million, compared with RM18.3 million in the corresponding quarter, due to better profit margins that the fastener and wire products segments enjoyed during the quarter, as a result of higher average selling prices.

Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNeX) posted a net profit of RM51.6 million for 3QFY22, up 18% from RM43.84 million for the preceding quarter. Revenue for the quarter stood at RM382.64 million, an 8% increase from RM353.31 million for 2QFY22, on higher contributions from across its business segments.

Pestech International Bhd said Friday that its net profit for 3QFY22 fell 54.5% to RM6.52 million from RM14.33 million in the same quarter last year, as revenue fell 16.26% to RM192.63 million from RM230.03 million in 3QFY21 on lower contribution from the rail division as most active projects are at their tail end while new ones are just starting.

Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd’s (AZRB) net loss for 3QFY22 was reeled back to RM16.33 million from RM26.77 million a year ago, as its plantation division incurred lower pre-tax loss. Quarterly revenue slumped 16.61% to RM181.27 million from RM217.37 million, as the revenue contribution from its engineering and construction division retreated, which more than offset stronger contribution from its oil and gas division.

Bintai Kinden Corp Bhd posted a net profit of RM1.17 million for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2022 (4QFY22), compared to a net loss of RM6.04 million a year earlier, on the back of RM37.94 million in revenue, which was 119.85% higher than the corresponding quarter’s top line.

Axiata Group Bhd said its president and group chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Izzaddin Idris will step down from his role on May 31 after 1½ years in the role, on the "mutual cessation" of his service contract with Axiata.

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has announced that it voted against the proposed acquisition of a 66.03% stake in Indonesian cable and internet provider PT Link Net Tbk by Axiata. The EPF — Axiata’s second-largest shareholder with a 16.95% — however, did not explain its reason for opposing the deal. Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Axiata's third-largest shareholder with a 14.67% interest, also opposed the deal.

CTOS Digital Bhd said its unit CTOS Data Systems Sdn Bhd had received an approval letter from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) via Malaysia Digital Economy Corp Sdn Bhd (MDEC) on its transition to MSC Malaysia Status Services Incentive under Tax (Exemption) (No.10) Order 2018, Income Tax Act 1967, resulting in its earnings for the second quarter ending June 30, 2022 (2QFY22) to be boosted by an immediate reversal of approximately RM4.2 million in tax provision from FY21.

Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) on Wednesday (May 25) bought 22,900 shares in Power Root Bhd via the open market, upping its interest in the company to 28.45 million shares. KWAP’s direct and indirect interest as at Thursday (May 26) in the company stood at 6.2% (25.53 million shares) and 0.71% (2.92 million shares) respectively.

Bursa Malaysia said the proprietary day traders (PDT) short selling and intraday short selling (IDSS) of Power Root shares have been suspended as the instant coffee maker's share price dropped more than 15 sen or 15% from the reference price, which refers to the stock's closing price of RM1.69 on Thursday (May 26).

Cypark Resources Bhd chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail has ceased to be a substantial shareholder of the company, following the disposal of 7.26 million shares or a 1.22% equity stake in the renewable energy company since May 24. Razali disposed of the shares in three tranches comprising blocks of 4.78 million, 1.98 million and 500,000 shares for a total consideration of RM3.32 million. About two weeks ago on May 13, he had also disposed of another block of 500,000 shares for RM367,500.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/bat-affin-bank-petchem-pmb-technology-keck-seng-bintulu-port-formosa-prosonic-paramount-hap