FBMKLCI DJ-115.42 CRUDE OIL90.63 RM 3.002

Worries about the Greek debt issue and the slide on Wall Street will weigh on investors’ sentiment in the week ahead, starting Monday, June 27, and maybe investors may give up the hope of window dressing as the first half draws to an end.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) hopes the result of its bid for the expansion of the Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madinah will come out by year-end. “We’ve already submitted our bid. The work is through a consortium to build a new terminal and runway,” MAHB managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad said on Friday at the inaugural GLC Open Day 2011 organised by Khazanah Nasional Bhd. MAHB had prequalified to bid for the work based on its experience and also strong technical knowledge, he said.

CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives are likely to see continued bearish sentiment.

Jim Teh, Interband Group of Companies' senior trader, said technical correction could drive the market with CPO prices hovering between RM2,800 and RM3,000 per tonne. “Buyers will not actively enter the market this week due to the current high prices,” he told Bernama.

TALAM Corp Bhd, once the country's largest builder of low- and medium- cost houses, has unfortunately been making headlines for the wrong reasons. Recently, the company reported a net loss of RM25.97mil for its first quarter ended April 30, 2011 versus a net profit of RM1.57mil in the previous corresponding period, mainly attributable to lower progress billings generated from the development projects during the quarter under review. Revenue for the period plunged 43% to RM13.18mil from RM23.26mil a year earlier.

LNG Resources Bhd is upbeat on the prospects for the connector industry as many new innovative products required connectors in their settings and assemblies. Managing director Low Chee Thean quoting a Bishop & Associates' research said 2010 was a comeback year for the connector industry following improvement in the global connector sales. He said global connector sales last year was estimated at US$44.2bil, an increase of 28.4% after a sharp decline of 21.8% in 2009 oneconomic recessions in Europe and the United States.

Kencana’s earnings rose 81% to RM56.42 million in the third quarter ended April 30, 2011 from RM31.17 million a year ago underpinned by the progress achieved for the contracts. Revenue rose 34.7% to RM377.83 million from RM280.37 million. Earnings per share were 3.08 sen versus 1.92 sen a year ago.

When compared with a year ago, where revenue and pre-tax profit came in at RM280.37 million and RM36.5 million, this was an improvement of 35% and 91% respectively in the current quarter.

Muhibbah was awarded a RM338 million contract from Northport (Malaysia) Bhd to build a multipurpose wharf and the associated facilities. Hopefully, this could inject some positive news into the stock which was battered by its exposure to the Asian petroleum hub debacle.

Muhibbah said the wharf would be an extension to the existing wharf eight and upgrading of wharf 16. The contract is scheduled to start in July and completed in March 2014.

Subur Tiasa’s  net profit in the third quarter ended April 30, 2011 fell 19.5% to RM8.40 million from RM10.44 million a year ago but it expects the outlook to be positive on firm demand overseas. “The market outlook for timber and timber products in the coming quarter remain positive with the continued firm demand for timber in India and China,” it said. The company’s financial performance was impacted by higher operational costs due to the increase in raw material, fuel and adhesive costs. Revenue declined 11.8% to RM144.66m from RM164.12 million. Earnings per share were 4.62 sen compared with 5.55 sen. Subur Tiasa said for the nine-month period, net profit was flat at RM23.838 million while revenue declined 4.8% to RM486.22 million from RM510.79 million.

Tambun Indah has several ongoing projects on mainland Penang with total GDV of RM1.6 billion, which is enough to last until 2016.

FBMKLCI 1563.43 DJ+42.84 CRUDE OIL93.20 RM 3.0175

The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Friday, June 17 after France and Germany outlined the aid for Greece but analysts said a recent bearish trend may not be over. Reuters reported that a slew of data showing the United States is on the verge of a slowdown has already done its damage to the market. After the heavy selling of the past several weeks, it seems investors are taking a wait-and-see approach -- for now.

Ramunia’s net profit for the second quarter ended April 30, 2011 fell 58.7% to RM1.41from RM3.42 million a year ago, due mainly to a reduction in revenue due to the tail end of remaining projects billings and lower operating income. Revenue fell to RM1.74 million from RM11.88 million in 2010. Earnings per share were 0.21 sen, while net assets per share were 25.3 sen. For the six months ended April 30, Ramunia’s net profit plunged 87.3% to RM2.51 million from RM19.83 million, while revenue fell 89% to RM3.09 million from RM27.74 million.

Construction company Muhibbah Engineering (M) Bhd has been in the spotlight last week after its contract with Asia Petroleum Hub (APH), a private company that develops and operates a multi-billion-ringgit oil terminal in Johor could be jeopardised by the latter's receivership status. Muhibbah's shares tumbled 20% or 38 sen last Thursday, closing at RM1.52 with 74.35 million shares traded.

Talam posted net loss of RM25.97 million in the first quarter ended April 30, 2011 compared with net profit of RM1.56 million a year ago as it was impacted by the high administrative and finance costs totaling RM32.49 million. Talam said administrative and other expenses totalled RM14.94 million while finance costs were RM17.55 million. Its revenue was RM13.18 million compared with RM23.26 million a year ago due  to lower gross profit and other operating income, as well as higher administrative and finance costs. Its loss per share was 0.72 sen versus earnings per share of 0.06 sen. Its net asset per share was 17 sen.

Wah Seong Corporation with a book order of RM1.2 billion plans to expand into water-related businesses and renewable energy after the demerger with Wasco Energy Ltd. It plans to boost its biomass equipment and power generation business, as well as integrating into the fast growing agro-based sector and water industry. Another key growth area would be in deepwater pipe and gas pipe coating.

Top Glove’s net profit for the third quarter ended May 31, 2011 fell 60.3% to RM25.60 million from RM64.48 million a year earlier due mainly to higher latex price and weakening US dollar. Revenue eased 3.7% to RM535.36 million from RM555.85 million. Earnings per share were 4.14 sen. It declared a first single tier net interim dividend of 5 sen, payable on July 21, 2011. For the nine months ended May 31, Top Glove’s net profit fell 56.5% to RM87.06 million from RM200.22 million in the previous corresponding period, while revenue declined to RM1.51 billion from RM1.54 billion in 2010.