Berjaya Corp, Sapura Energy, Public Bank, Farm Fresh, NTPM, Magni-Tech, JF Tech, TH Plantations and Eastland Equity

Berjaya Corp, Sapura Energy, Public Bank, Farm Fresh, NTPM, Magni-Tech, JF Tech, TH Plantations and Eastland Equity

KUALA LUMPUR (March 18): Here is a brief look at some corporate announcements and news flow on Friday (March 18) which involve Berjaya Corp Bhd, Sapura Energy Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Farm Fresh Bhd, NTPM Holdings Bhd, Magni-Tech Industries Bhd, JF Technology Bhd, TH Plantations Bhd and Eastland Equity Bhd.

Several sources say Berjaya Corp Bhd’s (BCorp) chief executive officer Abdul Jalil Abdul Rasheed will be stepping down from his post to pursue his personal interests. Jalil just marked his first anniversary in BCorp on March 16. It is understood that the former fund manager, who was president and group CEO of state-owned fund management company Permodalan Nasional Bhd, is considering a move back into the investment space.

According to BCorp's filing, Abdul Jalil has disposed of some 15 million shares in the conglomerate, trimming his direct stake to 3.318% or 171.57 million shares. The disposal took place via direct business transaction on Wednesday (March 16). On the same day, BCorp founder and largest shareholder Tan Sri Vincent Tan bought 15 million shares in the group via direct business transaction. The BCorp founder now directly holds 1.17 billion shares or 22.603% in the group, with indirect ownership of 994.8 million shares representing a 19.238% stake.

Financially-troubled Sapura Energy Bhd reported a staggering net loss of RM6.61 billion for its fourth quarter ended Jan 31, 2022 (4QFY22), compared with a loss of RM216.03 million a year prior, as it booked an impairment on goodwill worth RM3.29 billion, and an impairment on property, plant and equipment worth RM2.1 billion.

The oil and gas service provider's quarterly revenue dropped 68.61% to RM453.14 million from RM1.44 billion, amid lower percentage of completion recognised For the full year ended on Jan 31 (FY22), the group recorded a net loss to the tune of RM8.9 billion — its highest ever — from a net loss of RM160.87 million in the prior year as it realised impairment on goodwill and property, plant and equipment worth RM5.39 billion collectively.

Sapura Energy group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib said an uprecedented liquidity crunch and project losses due to the legacy contracts have brought the financially troubled Sapura Energy to face one of the most challenging years in the group's history. He also warned that the group may have to make tough calls if it is unable to reach workable compromises with its customers after it entered into negotiations with them on legacy contracts for amicable solutions to recover or limit losses. As an example, he cited the termination of its monopile installation contract at the Yunlin wind farm in Taiwan in 4QFY22 after "extensive negotiations" with its clients.

Public Bank Bhd and Carsome have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on car financing. Public Bank said it will be able to provide stock-financing and end-financing arrangements for the vehicles to its member Car Dealers and individual purchasers who have won the bids through Carsome’s online platform, as well as to extend wholesome financial products/or services to Carsome’s customers.

Main-market bound Farm Fresh Bhd's net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2021 (3QFY22) fell 24.13% to RM11.46 million from RM15.1 million in 3QFY21 due to lower revenue, as well as higher animal feed and freight costs. The dairy product specialist reported revenue of RM116.67 million, down 9.26% year-on-year (y-o-y) from RM128.57 million. It said the lower revenue was due to overall impact of the prolonged pandemic, which resulted in dampened economic activity, consumer confidence and levels of household income in Malaysia, as well as the ceasing of raw milk sales by the group’s Australia farm to third parties since end September 2021. For the nine months ended Dec 31, Farm Fresh’s net profit jumped 154% to RM62.2 million from RM24.49 million, with revenue increasing 2.99% to RM373.85 million from RM362.99 million.

NTPM Holdings Bhd reported an 81.08% slump in its third-quarter net profit ended Jan 31, 2022 (3QFY22) to RM5.62 million from RM29.68 million a year earlier. Other than an RM12.6 million gain from the disposal of a subsidiary, the group attributed the lower profit to a significant increase in costs of raw materials, packaging materials and freight, higher utility and energy costs, lower foreign exchange gain, and higher selling and distribution expenses. These offset the 8.45% y-o-y revenue increase to RM209.49 million from RM193.17 million, which came mainly from stronger sales of both tissue paper and personal care products. For the nine months ended Jan 31, 2022 (9MFY22), NTPM's net profit declined 57.36% y-o-y to RM24.76 million from RM58.06 million, while revenue inched up 0.52% y-o-y to RM564.06 million from RM561.13 million.

Garment manufacturer Magni-Tech Industries Bhd's net profit dropped 45.5% to RM26.68 million for its third financial quarter ended Jan 31, 2022 (3QFY22) from RM48.95 million a year earlier, on lower contributions from its garment and packaging businesses, as well as the absence of a one-off disposal gain on property of RM6.94 million in 3QFY21. Revenue for the quarter also fell 14.95% to RM312.83 million compared with RM367.82 million a year ago. Nevertheless, the group declared a second interim dividend of two sen, payable on April 18. For the nine months ended Jan 31, 2022, Magni-Tech's net profit shrank 32.88% y-o-y to RM64.8 million from RM96.54 million, while revenue fell 21.34% y-o-y to RM730.65 million from RM928.92 million.

JF Technology Bhd's (JF Tech) chief executive officer (CEO) Dillon Atma Singh has resigned from his position in the high-performance test contacting solutions manufacturer, "to pursue other opportunities". The resignation will take effect on Monday (March 20).

TH Plantations Bhd has appointed Datuk Dr Ahmad Kushairi Din as the palm oil company’s independent and non-executive director, effective Friday. Ahmad Kushairi is currently an independent non-executive director of Bank Pertanian Malaysia Bhd (Agrobank).

Eastland Equity Bhd is planning to acquire 92 commercial units in Bandar Tun Razak Business Park in Jengka, Pahang, as well as undertake a capital reduction exercise and business diversification to improve its financial position. The hospitality and property development company is buying the commercial units for RM24.8 million to be satisfied via the issuance of 381.54 million new shares at 6.5 sen apiece. It said the purchase comes with a 5% per annum guaranteed rental return that will provide it with a stable income stream for 5 years.

Meanwhile, the group’s proposed capital reduction exercise is aimed at eliminating its accumulated losses. This will involve the reduction of its entire capital reserve account of RM110.24 million as well as the cancellation of RM66.11 million of its issued share capital. The hospitality and property development company also proposed a diversification of its operations to include renewable energy and energy efficiency-related technology and businesses, in a bid to diversify its earnings stream as its existing operations — comprising property development, investment properties and hospitality businesses — have been negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/berjaya-corp-sapura-energy-public-bank-farm-fresh-ntpm-magnitech-jf-tech-th-plantations-and