KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 17): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Friday (Nov 18) may include: YTL Corp, Gas Malaysia, Tambun Indah, Ann Joo, MRCB, Guocoland and E&O.
YTL Corp Bhd's net profit fell 25% to RM150.33 million in the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2016 (1QFY17) from RM202.62 million a year ago, as it saw lower profit contribution from all but two of its seven business segments.
Revenue was down 21% at RM3.49 billion from RM4.45 billion.
The group said its business divisions saw lower profit, with the exception of its construction division and hotels division, which achieved a profit before tax (PBT) of RM8.79 million (up 16.7%) and RM13.69 million (up 117.8%), respectively.
Its two largest divisions — utilities, and cement manufacturing and trading — however, saw PBT fall 21% to RM201.81 million and 36% to RM74.94 million, respectively.
Gas Malaysia Bhd's net profit climbed 28.1% to RM43.2 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2016 (3QFY16) from RM33.72 million a year ago, as it saw higher gross profit from more gas sold.
The higher gross profit, the group said, is in line with the increase in volume of gas sold and assets contributed by customers.
Its quarterly revenue rose 19.23% to RM1.07 billion compared with RM895.5 million a year ago.
"This (the group's revenue) was mainly due to upward revision of natural gas tariff which took effect on July 15, 2016, and higher volume of gas sold in the current quarter," it added.
Tambun Indah Land Bhd's net profit rose to RM25.23 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2016 (3QFY16), up 6.08% from RM23.78 million a year ago, boosted by higher other income and lower administrative expenses.
However, 3QFY16 revenue slid 0.87% to RM85.44 million from RM86.18 million a year ago. The company declared a single-tier interim dividend of three sen per share payable on Feb 16, 2017. The ex-date is on Jan 24, 2017.
After posting a net loss of RM82.29 million or 16.44 sen per share a year ago, Ann Joo Resources Bhd recorded a net profit of RM22.92 million or 4.58 sen per share for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2016 (3QFY16), its third profitable quarter in a row.
The steel maker attributed the improved performance to a recovery in the selling price of various steel products and better cost structure.
Revenue, meanwhile, shrank a marginal 0.5% to RM323.73 million from RM325.47 million in 3QFY15.
The group did not declare any dividend for the quarter.
Ann Joo's performance is expected to remain satisfactory for the remaining period of 2016, it added.
Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) is letting go of a one-acre plot of land to Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd for RM180 million due to concerns over its proximity to the construction of the MRT Line 2.
MRCB said its wholly-owned subsidiary OneSentral Park Sdn Bhd was in the early stage of developing a block of serviced apartments on the land prior to receiving notice that the alignment of the MRT Line 2 crosses the site directly below the land.
The land — located along Jalan Conlay, below which the MRT Line 2 is — is expected to connect the Conlay and Tun Razak Exchange stations.
"The proposed disposal will allow the MRCB group to avoid any potential risk and unlock value from the early monetisation of the land," the group said.
MRCB had originally pumped in RM34.3 million into the leasehold plot in October 2012. The plot's net book value stands at RM65.7 million, based on the group's audited accounts for the year ended Dec 31, 2015 (FY15).
The disposal is expected to bring an estimated after-tax gain of RM38.1 million to the group, which should improve its earnings for FY16.
Guocoland (Malaysia) Bhd saw its first quarter ended Sept 30, 2016 (1QFY17) falling close to 99% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM265,000 or 0.04 sen per share versus RM21.33 million or 3.18 sen per share, mainly because it had recorded a fair value gain of some RM16.7 million in the previous year.
The fair value gain arose from the valuation of investment properties.
Meanwhile, revenue retreated 24.4% y-o-y to RM53.53 million from RM70.81 million, due to lower contribution from its residential projects in Damansara City, namely the Oval and Amandarii.
Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O), which plans to launch an estimated RM205 million worth of properties in the next three months, saw the weaker ringgit take a toll on its earnings for the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2016 (2QFY17).
The property developer's net profit fell 84.3% to RM3.83 million in 2QFY17 from RM24.45 million a year earlier.
Other income declined 62.4% to RM15.12 million versus RM40.26 million, further weighing down its earnings. No dividend was declared for the quarter.
For the cumulative six months ended Sept 30, 2016 (1HFY17), net profit dropped 85.2% to RM7.07 million from RM47.71 million a year ago, partially due to lower contribution from the share of result of an associate and an unrealised foreign exchange loss of RM15.245 million versus a gain of RM47.643 million in 1HFY16.
Cumulative revenue rose 56.9% to RM242.59 million from RM154.6 million.
E&O said its upcoming launches will be in Seri Tanjung Pinang, Penang. They include the 29-unit Amaris Terraces By-The-Sea and the 32-unit Ariza Seafront terraced homes with standard unit built-ups of 5,262 sq ft and 3,800 sq ft, respectively.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/ytl-corp-gas-malaysia-tambun-indah-ann-joo-mrcb-guocoland-and-eo
