FBMKLCI 1540.94 DJ+8.10 CRUDE OIL100.49 RM3.0155

Several analysts have downgraded Malaysia Airlines (MAS) after the national carrier posted a net loss of RM242.3mil in the first quarter ended March 31 on rising fuel prices and stronger ringgit. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, 12 of the 18 analysts covering the counter gave a “sell” call while five gave a “hold”. Only one analyst has a “buy” call on MAS. Research houses including CIMB Equities Research, AmResearch, Hong Leong Investment Bank and ECM Libra have downgraded the stock to either “sell”, “hold” or “underperform”. MAS posted a net loss of RM242.3mil in the first quarter against a net profit of RM310.04mil in the previous corresponding quarter after taking into account Airbus' compensation for late delivery. Revenue was 3.26% lower at RM3.19bil as fuel cost surged by 32% or RM321mil.

AirAsia Bhd has won three major awards at the Malaysian Investor Relations Association (Mira) Inaugural Malaysia Investor Relations Awards ceremony yesterday. Group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr. Tony Fernandes was named the Best CEO for Investor Relation-Mid Cap while the group’s investors relations manager Benyamin Ismail was named the Best Investor Relations Professional-Mid Cap. Datuk Seri Dr. Tony Fernandes AirAsia also won the Best Investors Relation Website award.

KNM Group Bhd said its wholly-owned unit KNM Process Systems Sdn Bhd won a RM217.76mil award for the development of documentation and equipment supply facility “booster compressor station” at the Khauzak site, Uzbekistan from Lukoil Uzbekistan Operating Co. It told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that the contract it won yesterday, was for two years from the date of contract commencement and the project would contribute to the group’s earnings for the financial years ending Dec 31 2011 and 2012.

KNM’s 1QFY11 net profit came in significantly below house and consensus expectations. Profit of RM19.4m made up less than 10% of full year estimates. “The reason for the poor showing is that the group is still going through their older orders, which were low margin orders secured over FY10 (excluding the turnkey projects). Management had earlier guided on softer results in 1H11 hence this comes as no surprise.

“On a positive note, revenue growth indicates increasing utilisation which we gauge should be at roughly 70% from 60%

Genting Bhd’s net profit surged 254% to RM824.17mil in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 from RM232.43mil a year earlier when it was impacted by net impairment losses. Revenue for the quarter was higher at RM4.89bil against RM3.11bil while earnings per share improved to 22.25 sen versus 6.29 sen previously.

Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd reported net profit of RM932 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011, an increase of 5.7% from the RM881 million a year ago. Its revenue rose 8.9% to RM4.353 billion from RM3.996 billion while earnings per share were 12 sen. It proposed dividend of 19 sen per share totaling RM1.52 billion. For the financial year ended March 31, its net profit increased by 36.1% to RM2.994 billion from RM2.199 billion. Revenue rose 19.5% to RM14.586 billion from RM12.203 billion supported by higher prices and volume addition.

MRCB posted a 120% increase in its earnings to RM21.60 million in the first quarter ended March 31, from RM9.84 million a year ago, boosted by its on-going property development projects. MRCB was upbeat on its outlook for the next two years where it expected progressive completion of the on-going CONSTRUCTION [] projects and property development within KL Sentral which works had commenced since 2009. “Two major developments planned on strata sales at Kuala Lumpur Sentral comprising Q Sentral office block at Lot B and condominium residences at Lot D with combined gross development value in excess of RM2 billion will commence construction works in 2011,” it said.

DRB-Hicom’s earnings were 72% lower at RM72.39 million from RM259.36 million a year ago due to the absence of exceptional gains of RM211.43 million from the disposal of estates. Its revenue rose 25.1% to RM1.99 billion from RM1.59 billion a year ago. It proposed a final dividend of four sen per share.

MyEG recorded its best-performing quarter in 3Q11, boosted by the public’s growing adoption of e-Government services via its MyEG portal. Its revenue rose 20% on the back of an increased Highway Code test-tasking, increased online, increased online payment of traffic summonses an encouraging growth for online renewal of road tax and automobile insurance.

YTL Corp Bhd posted a lower net profit of RM312.06mil for its third quarter ended March 31, compared with RM330.59mil made a year earlier as the previous year’s pre-tax profit was inclusive of a one-off fee income. For the quarter that just ended, the group made a revenue of RM4.24bil against RM3.93bil from a year ago. For the nine-month period ended March 31, the group posted a net profit of RM755.14mil compared with RM754.33 previously. Revenue for the nine months grew 11.5% to RM13.15bil compared with RM11.79bil for the preceding corresponding nine months ended March 31, 2010.

FBMKLCI 1533.57 DJ+38.45 CRUDE OIL 101.73 RM 3.0190

Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) posted a net loss despite recording strong revenue and traffic growth for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 as high jet fuel price and a stronger ringgit impacted earnings. The airline posted a net loss of RM242.33mil for the quarter under review from a net profit of RM310.04mil in the previous corresponding quarter after taking into account Airbus' compensation for late delivery. Revenue was 3.26% lower at RM3.19bil as fuel cost surged by 32% or RM321mil.

CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's net profit for first quarter ended March 31 was 9.4% higher year-on-year at RM917mil as credit losses dropped sharply. The net profit was equivalent to net earnings per share of 12.3 sen from 11.86 sen a year ago. This was achieved despite a 1.3% decrease in revenue to RM2.75bil for the quarter under review. The annualised net return on equity (ROE) for the quarter was 15.7%.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd's (TM) net profit for its first quarter ended March 31 (Q1FY11) was down 32.8% to RM163.3mil from a year ago mainly due to lower unrealised exchange gains on translation of foreign currency borrowings. But the revenue for the quarter under review recorded a 1.1% growth to RM2.15bil year-on-year (y-o-y), mainly attributed to higher revenue from data, Internet and multimedia services, which when combined contributed 57% of the group's total revenue for the quarter. Earnings per share was down to 4.6 sen for the quarter from 6.9 sen a year ago.

Mah Sing Group Bhd's net profit jumped 47.6% to RM41.1mil for the first quarter ended March 31 due to progressive recognition of development revenue and contribution from its property projects in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor Bahru. The company said in a statement yesterday that revenue for the quarter rose to RM311.7mil against RM238.3mil a year ago. Earnings per share stood at 4.95 sen. Mah Sing said projects that contributed to the group's profit and revenue included Perdana Residence 2 in Selayang, Garden Residence in Cyberjaya as well as Hijauan Residence and One Legenda in Cheras.

Proton Holdings Bhd posted a higher net profit of RM61.6mil for the fourth quarter ended March 31 compared with a net profit of RM2.64mil in the previous corresponding quarter. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the company attributed the positive results to higher vehicle sales for Proton and Lotus Group International Ltd. Proton vehicle sales for the fourth quarter was driven by demand for its Persona, Saga, Exora and Inspira models. However, for its full financial year ended March 31 (FY2011), Proton's net profit dropped by 30.5% year-on-year to RM152mil against a net profit of RM218.9mil previously.

Revenue for FY2011 grew to RM8.98bil compared with RM8.2bil in the previous year.

Property developer Ibraco Bhd, which has exited the Practice Note 17 (PN17) list, will embark on a new residential project in Stutong here. The company also plans to extend its property development activities to other major towns in Sarawak and venture into construction business. Chief executive officer Chew Chiaw Han said Ibraco would launch the proposed Stutong housing project, comprising 77 single-storey terraced and semi-detached houses, in July. “The project will have a gross development value (GDV) of about RM15mil,” he told StarBiz.

Property developer UEM Land Holdings Bhd's net profit and revenue for the first quarter ended March 31 soared compared with the same quarter a year ago on realisation of earnings from its own projects in Nusajaya, Johor, and from subsidiary Sunrise Bhd. The company said net profit jumped 460.34% to RM17.60mil on revenue that advanced 372.77% to RM187.68mil. 

Muhibbah secured a contract worth RM101 million in Australia for the Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) jetty and marine structure project.

KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD (KLK) posted a strong set of earnings in the first quarter, with net profit at RM373.85 million, up 73% than the RM215.93 million a year ago. Revenue also showed an increase, rising 24.6% to RM2.368 billion from RM1.90 billion a year ago.

Alliance Financial Group Bhd’s fourth quarter earnings rose 10% to RM84.93 million from RM77.25 million a year ago due to higher net income, lower overheads and lower impairment charge. Revenue was RM270.53 million compared with RM277.56 million, earnings per share were 5.5 sen compared with 5.0 sen.

FBMKLCI 1532.12 DJ-25.05 CRUDE OIL 99.17 RM 3.0250

AirAsia Bhd's net profit declined 23% to RM171.93mil for the first quarter ended March 31 from RM224.11mil posted in the same quarter last year, mainly due to lower unrealised foreign exchange gains. However, the airline recorded a revenue growth of 21% to RM1.05bil compared with RM870.61mil posted in the same quarter previously due to a 17% increase in passenger volume and higher ancillary income per passenger which rose year-on-year (yoy) by 31% to RM50 from RM38.

Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd will undoubtedly benefit from parent company Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) plan to build a US$20bil integrated downstream oil and gas complex in Pengerang, Johor. CIMB Research said in a report yesterday that the plan would provide great growth potential for Petronas Chemicals, similar to what the latter had achieved at its largest facility at Kertih. “Although the management has not clearly stated whether it is expanding in Johor, this plan is likely to be an expansion of the new naphtha-based petrochemical complex that the company talked about previously,” CIMB Research said, adding that Petronas Chemicals could invest US$1.5bil to US$2bil in the project.

Petronas Dagangan Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31 jumped 42% year-on-year to RM228.5mil due to lower operating expenditures.

Pos Malaysia posted net profit of RM38.26 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, a significant increase from only RM1.62 million a year ago. The earnings growth was underpinned by the domestic tariff increase which came into effect on July 1, 2010. The group’s growth of almost 121% in profit from operations at RM50.86 million (2010: RM23.07 million) for the period ended March 31, 2011 was due to the tariff increase and benefits realised from transformation initiatives.

RHB Capital Bhd, the country’s fourth largest banking group by assets, posted a 9.26% rise in net profit to RM382.12mil for the first quarter ended March 31 compared with the corresponding quarter a year ago on higher net interest income and income from Islamic banking.

Nursing school operator Masterskill Education Group Bhd posted a 15.3% fall in net profit to RM22.58mil for the quarter ended March 31 compared with the same quarter a year ago due to lower enrolment of students and higher operating overheads.

Bandar Raya Developments Bhd’s earnings fell to RM4.25 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 from RM22.15 million a year ago due to a decline in revenue. Revenue declined by 28% to RM137.18 million from RM189.80 million a year ago. Earnings per share were 0.9 sen compared with 4.7 sen. “With the completion of CapSquare Office Tower 2 and Troika in Kuala Lumpur as well as Phase 1 of Defence Raya Golf Resort in Lahore, Pakistan, revenue in the property division contracted by half to RM71.9 million from RM144.0 million in the same quarter a year ago,” it said.

PPB Group Bhd posted net profit of RM265.23 million in the first quarter compared with the RM1.125 billion a year ago which had included RM838.44 million from the sale of discontinued operations. Group revenue of RM579.84 million was 15% higher than the RM503.63 million a year ago. The increase was due mainly to higher flour revenue and increased grains trading volume recorded by the grains trading, flour and feed milling divisions

PETRA PERDANA BHD  posted net loss of RM8.4 million for its first quarter ended March 31, 2011 (1QFY11) due to higher operational costs with its increased new vessels. It said this was a contrast from a net profit of RM3.6 million from a year ago, when it also booked a one-off gain on vessel disposal of RM8.3 million. “Turnover jumped 32% to RM67.0 million in 1QFY11 from RM50.93 million a year earlier. The significant increase in turnover was mainly due to improvement in vessel utilisation and increased fleet size,” it said.

FBMKLCI 1525.28 DJ-130.78 CRUDE OIL 97.90 RM 2.9955

US stocks tumbled on Monday with European debt fears and easing Chinese growth giving investors jitters.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average of blue-chip stocks closed down 130.78 points (1.05 per cent) at 12,381.26. S&P's downgrade of Italian sovereign debt fed fears of a spreading eurozone crisis, while slowing Chinese manufacturing figures were a new sign of a slowdown in the world's number-two economy.
"Centre stage belonged to global uneasiness surrounding the euro-area debt crisis, after Standard & Poor's downgraded its outlook for Italy, Fitch lowered its outlook on Belgium, debt restructuring in Greece remained uncertain, and Spain's ruling party was trounced in regional elections over the weekend," said analysts at Charles Schwab.
 

Bursa Malaysia yesterday queried enterprise software solutions provider Ingenuity Solutions Bhd over the unusual market activity pertaining to the sharp fall of its share price and the high volume of its shares changing hands. The ACE Market-listed shares shed 4.5 sen yesterday to close at 13 sen yesterday, and topped the list of most actively traded shares with volume reaching 59.4 million shares.

Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Puncak Oil & Gas Sdn Bhd (POG), had entered into two separate sale and purchase agreements with Global International Vessels Ltd (GIVL) for the acquisition of equity interests in two of the latter’s subsidiaries. Puncak Niaga said the acquisition of the 40% equity interests in Global Offshore (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (GOM) and KGL Ltd, respectively, would involve a total cash consideration of US$23.6mil (RM70.8mil). This would be made up of 300,000 GOM shares costing US$8.4mil and 80,000 KGL shares costing US$15.2mil.

PUNCAK NIAGA HOLDINGS BHD and its partner Quality Concrete Holdings Bhd signed a contract for a RM667.32 million rural water supply project in Sarawak. Puncak said the 40:60 Konsortium Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd-Quality Concrete had signed the contract to supply rural water from 2010 to 2012. The completion period is Dec 31, 2012. PBA’s net profit surged 105% to RM11.03 million from RM5.37 million a year ago mainly due to the improved sale of water revenue from trade consumers. Its revenue rose 15.3% to RM56.31 million from RM48.85 million while earnings per share were 3.33 sen compared with 1.62 sen.

Bursa Malaysia Securities has uplifted Ibraco Bhd from the Practice Note 17 classification with effect from Tuesday, May 24. With the completion of the regularisation plan, the company has regularised its financial condition and no longer triggered any of the criteria under PN17 of the Main Market Listing Requirements

Bursa Securities had also approved Ibraco’s waiver application to comply with the requirement to record a net profit in two consecutive quarterly results immediately upon the implementation of the regularisation plan.

Crane manufacturer FAVELLE FAVCO BHD  reported a 13.5% increase in earnings to RM3.86 million in the first quarter ended March 31 from RM3.40 million a year ago mainly due to higher sales. Revenue rose 13.6% to RM85.18 million from RM74.95 million while earnings per share were 2.18 sen versus 1.97 sen. It had cash and cash equivalents of RM103.03 million as at March 31. As at May 19, 2011, outstanding order book of the group is RM496.4 million of which majority is from oil and gas cranes for the offshore oil and gas exploration and production activities.

MITRAJAYA HOLDINGS BHD  has secured a RM46.40 million contract to build an eight-story private hospital in Rawang. It accepted the letter of award from Rawang Specialist Hospital Sdn Bhd for the contract.

MAA Holdings Bhd, a Malaysian insurer, rose 1.6 per cent in Kuala Lumpur trading after saying its first-quarter profit more than tripled. The stock climbed to RM1.28 at 9:10 a.m. local time, set for its biggest gain since May 19.

FBMKLCI 1541.03 DJ-93.28 CRUDE OIL 99.53 RM 2.9870

BURSA Malaysia is likely to be lower this week with the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) expected to drift between 1,530 and 1,540-point level. Affin Investment Bank head of retail research, Dr Nazri Khan, said rising inflation, the start of interest rates upcycle, the unexpected commodity bubble burst and the uninspiring overnight session on Wall Street were likely to be important forces to influence the broad market's direction. The economic situation also remains uncertain for the Group of 3 (US, Europe and Japan) following the untimely resignation of International Monetary Fund chief last week. However, he said, the local market was likely to find footing from stable ringgit, oil and gold price. Nazri said the local market was also likely to get support from the potential listing of Felda Sugar, the launching of Financial Sector Master Plan and the start of the third round of banking consolidation next month. Further, the news that the local giant construction MMC Corp planned to list its energy and port units, with an estimated market capitalisation of up to RM14bil, would also create some excitement, he said.

Mah Sing Group Bhd will launch RM2.5bil to RM3bil worth of projects in the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor this year to meet its sales target of RM2bil for the current financial year ending Dec 31. Group managing director and chief executive Tan Sri Leong Hoy Kum said the projects would comprise an array of commercial, residential and industrial properties.

Analysts still bearish on sector due to weak global chip sales

PETALING JAYA: Research analysts are still bearish on the semiconductor sector in the country.

Last month, analysts downgraded their calls on Malaysian Pacific Industries Bhd (MPI) and Unisem (M) Bhd following weaker-than-expected financial numbers for the first quarter of this year. Research houses said the earnings of both semiconductor companies were impacted due to inventory adjustment among clients following a supply pile-up in the second half of 2010. TA Securities Research recently downgraded the semiconductor sector from “neutral” to “underweight”. “We foresee global chip sales remaining weak in the second quarter of this year as many semi-device makers are moderating production after the earthquake in Japan,” said the report. The continuous strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar will be tough for local semiconductor manufacturers as revenue is denominated in the US dollar, according to the report.

Melati Ehsan was awarded a RM148.63 million project from the Public Works Department to build a road stretching from Gua Musang in Kelantanf to Kampung Relong in Pahang. Melati’s unit Pembinaan Kery Sdn Bhd accepted a letter of award from the PWD for the road CONSTRUCTION [] project which starts on June 15 this year until Dec 10, 2013.

TSH Resources has allocated RM100 million or more per year as PLANTATION [] development capital expenditure (capex) for new planting of oil palm trees, the bulk of which will in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Bulk of the RM100 million capex would be for new planting in Kalimantan where it has about 58,000 ha of land which is still unplanted. The Indonesian operations, with the trees maturing by next year, would underpin TSH’s fresh fruit bunches output, productivity and revenue.

KPJ Healthcare reported a set of unimpressive earnings at RM27.51 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 (1QFY2011) compared with RM27.24 million a year ago. Revenue rose 16.4% to RM437.75 million from RM376.04 million a year ago while earnings per share were 5.09 sen compared with 5.19 sen. It declared 2.4 sen dividend per share. However, KPJ expected the group’s performance would continue to improve in line with increasing demand, hospital capacity and activities.

MK Land Holdings Bhd’s net profit rose more than two-fold to RM7.22 million in the third quarter ended March 31 versus RM2.02 million a year ago, underpinned by its strong property performance. Revenue rose to RM165.15 million from RM94.74 million. Net asset per share was 87 sen.

Can-One Bhd has taken court action KIAN JOO CAN FACTORY BHD [] over the latter’s proposed one-for-two bonus issue and the proposed renounceable rights issue of 166.56 million 2five-year warrants 2011/2016 on the basis of one warrant for every four KJCF shares held after the proposed bonus. Can-One claimed the proposals breached the rights of Can-One under the shares sales agreement dated March 13, 2009 and in breach of the Order of the Court of Appeal dated Aug 25, 2010 and the order of the Federal Court dated Feb 21, 2011.

The Edge weekly reports that crane manufacturer Handal Resources has been on an expansion trail since it was listed two years ago, and the strategy has borne fruit.