FBMKLCI 1536.03 DJ-130.33 CRUDE OIL 99.04 RM 2.9460

Oil and gas (O&G) stocks rose yesterday on the local bourse as several O&G service providers are expected to benefit from a multi-billion ringgit downstream project to be announced on Friday by the Government, and the gains in these stocks were also in line with the rise seen on the broader market.

Trading in ACE Market-listed Ecofuture Bhd’s shares will be suspended from May 10 until further notice due to the company’s failure to submit its audited accounts for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010.

Soon-to-be listed property developer UOA Development Bhd signed a retail underwriting agreement with its underwriters, ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia next month.

UOA has received approval from the Securities Commission for the proposed listing of its entire enlarged issued and paid-up share capital of up to 1.2 billion 5 sen shares. The IPO consists of an institutional offering of up to of 337 million shares to Malaysian and foreign institutional and selected investors (including bumiputra investors approved by the International Trade and Industry Ministry) and a retail offering of 70 million shares to the Malaysian public, eligible directors and employees of UOA Development, its subsidiaries and persons who have contributed to the success of UOA and its subsidiaries.

Malaysia Building Society Bhd (MBSB) posted net profit of RM68.28 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 compared with RM43.19 million a year ago. Revenue was RM311.63 million compared with RM169.12 million. For the three months ended March 31, 2011, MBSB group achieved a pre-tax profit of RM91.0 million, up 111% from RM43.2 million a year ago.

Petronas Gas Bhd posted a 11.09% increase in revenue to RM891.19mil on the back of a 32.41% increase in net profit to RM266.66mil for the fourth quarter to March 31, 2011. Earnings per share increased to 13.48 sen from 10.18 sen. The better results were due to higher gas transportation revenue and utilities sales, Petronas Gas said in a statement.

Wah Seong Corp Bhd (WSC) has proposed to demerge the oil and gas businesses currently held under its wholly-owned Wasco Energy Ltd (WEL). In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, Wah Seong said that the proposed demerger was to enable WEL and its subsidiaries to operate as a separate and fast-growing public-listed entity. It added that a proposed listing of WEL on the Main Market of Bursa Securities would be sought in conjunction with the proposed demerger. “The proposed demerger will provide a platform for the respective entities to pursue a different and more tailored business strategy for each division. This in return will allow the respective entities to accelerate its growth through explicit management directions and accountability for each individual entity,” Wah Seong explained in its statement.

Petra Perdana Bhd has secured a total of RM73mil worth of new charter contracts for three mid-size anchor-handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels. The company said in a statement that in the first contract, a 12,000 brake horse power (bhp) AHTS was on a six-month charter from May 1 for deployment in Labuan.

MISC posted net loss of RM307.88 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 after it made impairment provisions totaling RM456.65 million. The poor financial performance was a sharp contrast from the net profit of RM196.43 million a year ago when the provisions for impairments were sharply lower at RM49.58 million. MISC said its revenue was lower at RM2.924 billion compared with RM3.31 billion a year ago. Loss per share was 6.9 sen compared with earnings per share of 5.10 sen.

Dialog Group’s net profit for the third quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose 20.4% to RM38.34 million from RM31.84 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher contribution from its engineering and CONSTRUCTION [], and plant maintenance activities in Malaysia and Singapore. Revenue rose to RM301.16 million from RM282.77 million. Earnings per share were 1.95 sen while net asset per share was 28.46 sen. Dialog declared a interim single-tier cash dividend  of 1.3 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending June 30, 2011.

Wah Seong’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 surged to RM43.37 million from RM17.02 million a year ago, due to increasing activities recorded in all divisions of the group, especially in the pipeline services division. Its revenue for the quarter increased  by 19.8% to 490.89 million from RM409.62 million. Earnings per share were 5.83 sen while net asset per share was RM1.31.