FBMKLCI 1492.09 DJ+161.29 CRUDE OIL 103.86 RM 3.036

Boustead Holdings Bhd will see some steady recurring income from Pharmaniaga Bhd now that the latter has entered into a 10-year concession agreement with the Health Ministry to supply medical products to Government-owned hospitals.

Sabah-based downstream timber manufacturer Focus Lumber Bhd’s public issue of 6.9 million new shares under its planned listing exercise on Bursa Malaysia has been fully underwritten by Bank Islam and BIMB Securities.

Adhesive and sealant manufacturer OCI Bhd’s entire issued and paid-up capital would be removed from the official list of Bursa Securities with effect from Monday.

Karambunai Corp Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Karambunai Resorts Sdn Bhd, has signed a joint venture agreement with China Central Asia Group Co Ltd (CCAG) to develop the RM1bil first phase of the Karambunai Integrated Resort City (KIRC) in Kota Kinabalu.

SP Setia Bhd’s earnings rose 62.41% to RM62.03mil for the quarter ended Jan 31 versus a year earlier, on property development activities in the Klang Valley, Johor Baru and Penang.

Kencana Petroleum Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter ended Jan 31, 2011 grew by 56.69% compared with the corresponding quarter a year ago to RM50.60mil largely due to progress achieved for contracts in hand and better management of relevant costs, as well as contributions from drilling services.

Department store operator Parkson Holdings Bhd has entered into an “exclusivity agreement” with PT Tozy Bintang Sentosa for a period of 90 days for the purpose of developing and expanding in Indonesia.

Faber Group proposed to cancel 75 sen of the existing par value of its RM1 share in a move to reduce its accumulated losses. Based on its paid-up share capital as at Dec 31, 2010 of RM363.0 million, it said the credit arising from the reduction of the par value would be about RM272.3 million.

Cypark plans to invest RM94.29 million to build a 10Mw renewable energy plant with grid connection, at the RE Park in Pajam. The project is expected to generate gross national income (GNI) of RM12.16 million each year for the next 21 years, totaling RM255.36 million.

FBMKLCI 1518.77 DJ no market CRUDE OIL 97.37 RM 3.00

Asian markets experienced choppy trade yesterday as conflict in the Middle East affected investor sentiment with oil prices rising and gold surging to a seven-week high. Crude oil climbed US$1.94 to US$88.14 per barrel at 5pm with spot gold surging US$8.80 to US$1,398.32 per ounce.

 

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) posted a net profit of RM1.13bil, or 15.72 sen per share, for its second quarter ended Dec 31, 13.7% higher than the RM993.5mil, or 14.04 sen per share, reported in the same quarter of 2009 after almost all segments performed better and bad loan provisions were lower.

TH Plantations’ fourth quarter earnings rose 88.7% to RM42.55 million from RM22.54 million a year ago mainly due to higher prices for crude palm oil and palm kernel when compared to a year ago. It said on Monday, Feb 21 its revenue rose 47% to RM128.53 million from RM87.35 million. Earnings per shares were 8.71 sen compared with 4.62 sen a year ago. It proposed dividend payout of 12.5 sen per share. It had cash of RM130.56 million as at Dec 31, 2010.

UNITED PLANTATIONS BHD []’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose 19.9% to RM81.88 million from RM68.29 million a year earlier, due to higher crude palm oil (CPO) palm kernel (PK) selling prices. Its revenue rose 53% to RM302.83 million from RM197.88 million in 2009. Earnings per share were 39.24 sen while net assets per share was RM8.51. The company has proposed a final dividend of 15 sen net per share and a special dividend of 26.25 sen net per share for the year ended Dec 31, 2010.

ALLIANCE FINANCIAL GROUP BHD [] said its net profit rose 11.22% to RM111.12 million in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM99.91 million a year ago, driven by higher net interest income and lower overheads. Revenue rose to RM284.98 million from RM278.27 million. Earnings per share were 7.30 sen while net assets per share was RM2.15.  AFG proposed dividend of 3.70 sen per share. For the nine months ended Dec 31, its net profit rose to RM324.2  million from RM224.17 million a year ago, on the back of revenue RM858.18 million.

Parkson Retail Group Ltd, the Beijing-based department-store chain controlled by Malaysia’s Lion Group, will accelerate its expansion in China in the next three years. The company will open 8 to 9 stores a year through 2013, after opening 5 last year, Managing Director Alfred Cheng told reporters in Hong Kong. The retailer said 2010 net income jumped 9 per cent to 992 million yuan (US$151 million), compared with the 1.07 billion yuan average of 13 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

FBMKLCI 1533.42 DJ+93.24 CRUDE OIL 91.60 RM 3.04

Petra Energy is close to bagging a RM100m contract from Murphy Oil for hook-up and commissioning works,sources say. It is learnt that Petra Energy could make an announcement to the local bourse soon after ironing out a few minor issues. The job from Murphy is said to be at the same rates as the one offered by Petronas Carigali.

MRCB-IJM Land merger aborted ‘over CEO choice’

The inability of Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) and IJM Land Bhd to come to an agreement over who will lead the new entity is the cause of the merger between the two property firms being called off. 

A source confirmed this to StarBiz yesterday following both companies' announcements to Bursa Malaysia last Thursday that the merger was aborted as they were unable to reach an agreement on the definitive terms and conditions of the proposed merger, following a series of discussions. “The breakdown in talks is purely management related essentialy on the leadership of the new entity,” the source said. He said there was a difference in opinion on whether MRCB chief executive officer (CEO) Mohamed Razeek Hussain or IJM Land CEO-cum-managing director Datuk Soam Heng Choon should lead the new entity.

Sunway Holdings Bhd has secured two contracts totalling RM218.82mil for the expansion of a Universiti Teknologi Mara campus and a proposed link bridge in the city centre. The proposed projects are expected to contribute positively to the earnings of Sunway Group for the financial year ending Dec 31 onwards, it said in a statement to Bursa Malaysia.

MK Land Holdings Bhd is selling two plots of leasehold land in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, to Foster Estate Sdn Bhd for RM130mil cash. It told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it had entered into sale-and-purchase agreements with Foster Estate on Dec 30, 2010 to dispose of 18.54 acres for RM100.78mil and another 8.32 acres for RM29.21mil. MK Land said it was disposing of the two plots to unlock their value which it had no immediate plans to develop and the proposals were expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

 

Maxbiz resumes trading on Tuesday. Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhs has directed the company make an immediate announcement in accordance with Paragraph 4.0 of PN 17 that it has triggered the prescribed criterion under paragraph 2.1(f) of PN 17. Bursa Securities had granted an extension until Dec 27, 2010 for Messrs. Gomez & Co to complete and submit its PN 17 assessment report to Bursa but the said report was not submitted to Bursa Securities by the due date. Hence, Bursa Securities deemed the company had failed to comply with the requirements and obligations as stated in the Bursa Securities' letters dated Nov 10, Dec 9 and Dec 24,  2010 respectively.

Parkson is expanding into Cambodia after it received a certificate of commercial registration from the government there to set up Parkson Cambodia Holdings Co., Ltd Parkson Cambodia will operate department stores in Cambodia.

FBMKLCI 1487.53 DJ -142.21 CRUDE OIL: 81.23 RM: 3.081

Stocks fell Tuesday as a flare-up of tensions between North and South Korea combined with downbeat news on the economy gave investors plenty of reasons to sell ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. The dollar and gold rose as investors sought safe places to park money. 

  

MRCB and IJM Land Bhd yesterday announced their proposed merger exercise, which will create the country's second largest property player after the enlarged UEM Land Holdings Bhd, with a market capitalisation exceeding RM7 billion and a land bank of over 9,000 acres. 

Market observers are speculating that a “marriage” of sorts is on the cards for SunCity and Sunway Holdings Bhd, after both companies had their shares suspended from trading for two days from yesterday, pending a material announcement on a corporate exercise. 

Gadang Holdings Bhd is bidding for several engineering and construction projects totalling more than RM2 billion and the company anticipates stronger earnings for the financial year 2011 ended May 31.

LionInd’ 1QFY11 net loss of RM18.8m. The poor results were mainly attributed to the arrival of expensive feed material, namely iron ore and scrap metal, which were mismatched with weakening selling prices.

Parkson Holdings announced that it is selling its 100% equity interest in Shantou Parkson to its 51.5% owned subsidiary - Parkson Retail (PRG).

Msports 9MFY10 earnings of RM49.2m. Production volume increased by 34% to 23.4m in 9MFY10 while average selling price improved by 4.4% to RMB18.9 per pair, mainly driven by the higher demand for EVA MD products.

MPHB posted net profit of RM86.49 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, up 70% from RM50.73 million a year, boosted by its gaming and stockbroking operations. Revenue was 4.6% higher at RM850.7 million compared with RM813.24 million a year ago.

MUDAJAYA GROUP BHD net profit rose 31.8% to RM46.55 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2010 from RM35.32 million a year ago, mainly due increased level of activities.