KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 28): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Thursday (Dec 29) may include: APM Automotive Holdings Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, Econpile Holdings Bhd, Scientex Bhd, Gas Malaysia Bhd, FoundPac Group Bhd and Solid Automotive Bhd.
APM Automotive Holdings Bhd is penetrating into the Internet of Things (IoT) market via the acquisition of a 52% stake in Omnimatics Sdn Bhd for RM625,000.
APM’s unit Auto Parts Holdings Sdn Bhd had on Dec 2 inked a subscription agreement with Raj Kissu Rajandran and Watchtower & Friends Sdn Bhd, resulting in Omnimatics becoming a subsidiary of Auto Parts Holdings.
Omnimatics was set up by Raj Kissu as a tech startup to develop its flagship product, CARdio — an IoT telematics platform that connects cars to the cloud, to make day-to-day driving a better and safer experience through information awareness.
On the rationale for the acquisition, APM said the emergence of IoT applications embedded in automobiles, both the automobile industry insiders and everyday drivers would lead to an increase in connectivity, productivity and ability to perform diagnostics, while on the move.
Borneo Oil Bhd’s net profit for its third financial quarter ended Oct 31, 2016 (3QFY16) more than tripled to RM21.6 million, from RM5.26 million a year earlier, attributed to revaluation gain of RM35 million in its investment properties.
Revenue rose to RM950.44 million, from RM23.96 million. But it was down 9.26%, compared with the preceding quarter’s revenue of RM1.05 billion, mainly due to a quieter gold trading and investment climate.
The fast-food & franchise division, meanwhile, posted lower revenue of RM12.08 million in 3Q, from RM13.66 million in the preceding quarter (2Q).
The company opened three Sugarbun and four Pezzo franchised outlets during the quarter, bringing their total number to 89 and 48 respectively.
The mining, energy & related operations division posted lower revenue of RM937.33 million versus the preceding quarter of RM1.033 million. The trading/investment division purchased 5,426.8 kg of gold and sold 5,508 kg of gold during the quarter, leaving a closing inventory of 836.34kg.
“The mining activities produced 13.015kg of gold during the same period,” it said.
Its other divisions, namely its head office and the property, management & operation divisions, contributed immensely in this current quarter, mainly through a revaluation exercise carried out in October 2016 of its investment properties, which registered an overall increase in the fair value of RM35 million.
Econpile Holdings Bhd, along with its joint venture partner China Communications Construction Co (M) Sdn Bhd (CCCC), has clinched a RM389.07 million contract to undertake foundation, substructures and other ancillary works for Package SUKE-CA3 of the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) project.
Econpile’s wholly-owned subsidiary Econpile (M) Sdn Bhd (EMSB) and CCCC received a letter of award dated Dec 22, 2016 from Gabungan Strategik Sdn Bhd for the proposed project.
Based on the pre-bidding arrangement, the scope of work will be divided among EMSB and CCCC in a 40:60 ratio.
Under the contract, EMSB’s portion of work amounts to RM158.27 million, out of the total contract sum of RM389.07 million awarded to CCCC and EMSB. The contract is valid for 17 months.
Scientex Bhd is purchasing two pieces of land measuring 121.1967 acres in Kulai, Johor from Singapore-based Lee Rubber Co (Pte) Ltd for RM123.64 million cash.
The proposed acquisition will lift Scientex's total landbank up to 2,400 acres, which will keep it busy for the next 10 to 15 years.
Scientex said its wholly-owned subsidiary Scientex Quatari Sdn Bhd has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with oil palm estate owner Dahlia Utama Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned unit of Lee Rubber, for the proposed acquisition.
The proposed development, the group said, will enable the company to tap on operational efficiencies and generate better margins through economies of scale to be achieved during project implementation.
"The land is proposed to be developed into a mixed property development. However, it is currently too preliminary to ascertain the exact total gross development value, development cost, the expected commencement and completion dates of the development and the expected profits to be derived from the development of the land," said Scientex.
Scientex has ongoing projects worth RM1.6 billion at the moment, consisting mostly of five townships in Johor (Pasir Gudang, Kulai, Skudai, Senai and Pulai) and a mixed development in Melaka.
Gas Malaysia Bhd announced that an Incentive Based Regulation (IBR) framework will be used to fix the natural gas base tariff for the non-power sector in Peninsular Malaysia, for a three-year period from Jan 1, 2017.
Under the framework, the company would allow changes in the gas costs to be passed through via the Gas Cost Pass Through (GCPT) mechanism, every six months.
A unified base rate for natural gas of RM26.71/mmbtu (million British Thermal Units) will be charged across all categories in the first half of 2017, before being increased to RM28.05/mmbtu in the second half.
In 2018, the base rate will be increased to RM30.90/mmbtu in the first half and further raised to RM31.92/mmbtu in the second half.
For 2019, the base rate will be raised to RM32.69/mmbtu in the first half and RM32.74/mmbtu in the second half.
Gas Malaysia said that residential consumers will be charged RM19.26/mmbtu for the first half of 2017. In comparison, the existing tariff is RM19.52/mmbtu.
Public IB Research has valued FoundPac Group Bhd, which is set for listing on the Main Market, at 63 sen.
FoundPac began its operations in precision engineering parts trading in May 2005. Over the years, the group extended its business to include design, development and manufacturing activities, catering to semiconductor companies in North America, Europe and Asia.
It also plans to expand its production capacity through the acquisition of new machines, diversification of its customer base to include end-user industries and setting up of more sales offices overseas.
Solid Automotive Bhd's net profit almost halved to RM1.37 million or 0.82 sen a share in the second financial quarter ended Oct 31, 2016 (2QFY17), from RM2.72 million or 1.65 sen a share a year ago, due mainly to lower gain on foreign exchange and the higher inventories written down in the current quarter.
Revenue fell 2.1% to RM32.54 million in 2QFY17, from RM33.22 million in 2QFY16.
For the cumulative six months (6MFY17), Solid Automotive's net profit dropped 39.7% to RM2.52 million or 1.52 sen a share, from RM4.18 million or 2.59 sen a share in 6MFY16; while revenue rose by a marginal 1% to RM62.17 million, from RM61.55 million.
On prospects, Solid Automotive said it will continue to focus on strategies for sales and marketing in both domestic and export market, to promote its in-house brands and expand its product range.
"The group will continue with improvements to enhance our supply chain management, productivity and cost management. The group will strive to maintain its performance for the financial year ending April 30, 2017," it added.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/apm-automotive-borneo-oil-econpile-scientex-gas-malaysia-foundpac-and-solid-automotive
