FBMKLCI 1560.40 DJ-41.59 CRUDE OIL100.73 RM 2.9955

Malakoff Corp Bhd, owned by MMC Corp Bhd, is expected to be awarded a contract to build a 1,000MW coal-fired power plant soon, said sources. According to sources, the plant will have a 15-year concession to sell the power at a rate of 25 sen per kwh to Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB).

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas), via its wholly-owned subsidiary Petronas International Corp Ltd (PICL), has signed an agreement with Canada-based Progress Energy Resources Corp to acquire 50% of the latter's interest in shale gas assets worth C$1.07bil (RM3.32bil). In a statement yesterday, Petronas said the agreement was signed to develop the Altares, Lily and Kahta shale gas assets in north-eastern British Columbia. “The assets included in the transaction cover approximately 150,000 gross working-interest acres of land with an estimated contingent gas resource of more than 15 trillion cu ft. The assets will be operated by Progress,” said Petronas.

MTD Construction Sdn Bhd (MTDC) has won its RM38.59mil suit against AXA Affin Assurance Bhd  involving a claim on a contractors’ All Risks Policy against the latter. In a note to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, MTD ACPI Engineering Bhd said the case was ruled in favour of MTDC on May 27, with the judge holding AXA Affin liable for the damages to be assessed before the Court Registrar.

The hike in electricity tariff and gas prices will impact the steel, cement and glove manufacturing sectors, according to research firms. HwangDBS Vickers Research said the full-year earnings projections of steel makers Southern Steel Bhd, Kinsteel Bhd and might be lower by between 17% and 25% while forecast earnings for glove manufacturers Top Glove Corp Bhd and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd could drop by between 5% and 7%. CIMB Research said electricity accounted for 8% of total costs for steel maker Ann Joo Resources Bhd as well as 18% of those for cement producers Lafarge Malayan Cement Bhd and Tasek Corp Bhd.

Petra Energy Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Petra Resources Sdn Bhd (PRSB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Labuan Shipyard & Engineering Sdn Bhd (LSE) for the proposed utilisation of the latter’s shipyard facilities at Victoria Harbour, Labuan Island. Petra Energy told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that the MoU was for the purpose of PRSB’s fabrication activities.

Mobile virtual network operator XOX Bhd’s initial public offering (IPO) has been oversubscribed by 13.2 times. Its IPO atracted 6,652 applications for 106.5 million shares with a total value of RM85.2mil, for the public tranche of 7.5 million shares, the company, which slated for ACE market listing on June 10, said in a statement yesterday.

Genting Bhd could also be in focus given its overseas expansion plans in Miami, with expectations that the group would try to secure a gaming licence there.

FBMKLCI 1511.11 DJ- 107.01 CRUDE OIL 98.90 RM 3.02

It may not be the time for bargain hunting yet as there is more downside to the local stock market due to negative external factors. Investors appeared to be staying at the sidelines yesterday with only 1.7 billion shares being traded compared to the average daily volume of more than 2 billion at the start of the year. The local benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI had yesterday shed more than 10 points in intra-day trading before finishing at 1,511.11, 2.52 points or 0.17% lower, dragged down mostly by plantation stocks affected by lower crude palm oil prices.

PLUS Expressway Bhd, the country's biggest toll road operator, obtained its shareholders' approval yesterday for the RM23 billion takeover bid by its major shareholders UEM Group Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), despite over 100 minority shareholders claiming the EGM was "illegal" and walking out halfway.

Telecommunications service provider Axiata Group Bhd posted a net loss of RM367mil for the fourth quarter (Q4) ended Dec 31, 2010, due to impairment loss on its investment in an India-based associate. This compared with a net profit of RM558mil for the corresponding period last year.

Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd (MPHB), which has businesses from gaming to stockbroking, recorded improved results in the continuing operations of the company despite the lower net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010.

Plantation firm TSH Resources Bhd’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010, surged 115.98% to RM44.22mil compared with the previous corresponding quarter mainly due to higher contributions from Indonesian operations.

Star Publications (M) Bhd’s net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010 (FY10) rose 27.80% to RM184.94mil on revenue that gained 9.01% to RM1.06bil.

Hong Leong Bank Bhd’s (HLB) net profit for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose to RM291.43mil from RM224.75mil a year ago while revenue increased to RM603.96mil from RM519.40mil previously.

Transmile Group Bhd faces suspension and delisting from March 3 and March 7 respectively for failing to submit a regularisation plan to the Securities Commission or Bursa Malaysia for approval by Feb 22.

PETRA ENERGY BHD [] is likely to post losses for the fourth quarter of 2010 even with crude oil prices around US$100 again.

Genting Bhd’s net profit surged 89.6% to RM465.43 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM245.4 million a year ago. Revenue rose 76% to RM4.086 billion from RM2.320 billion. Earnings per share were 12.57 sen compared with 6.64 sen while it proposed a final dividend of 4.5 sen. It said the higher revenue was mainly from the leisure and hospitality division with the commencement of operations of Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore, during the first quarter of 2010. As for FY10, its earnings rose 110.9% to RM2.202 billion from RM1.044 billion while revenue surged 71% to RM15.194 billion from RM8.893

billion. Group revenue rose by 71% to record a new high of RM15.19 billion in FY2010 (FY2009: RM8.89 billion), while group profit before tax rose by 74% to post a new high of RM4.39 billion in FY2010 (FY2009: RM2.53 billion).

IJM Corp’s earnings rose 58% to RM132.19m in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 from RM83.64 million a year ago, boosted by its property and PLANTATION []s sector. Revenue dipped 3.7% to RM901.34 million from RM936.31 million. Earnings per share were 9.78 sen compared with 6.32 sen. IJM said the lower revenue was mainly due to mainly to the CONSTRUCTION [] and property divisions.

Kossan’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose 21.4% to RM29.45 million from RM24.25 million a year ago, driven by the expansion in the company’s gloves division with better product mix and margin. Revenue rose 11% to RM252.97 million from RM227.75 million. Earnings per share were 9.18 sen while net assets per share was RM1.40. For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010, Kossan’s net profit recorded an increase of 76.1% to RM118.59 million from RM67.33 million a year ago. Revenue rose 24.6% to RM1.05 billion from RM842.14 million.

Tan Chong’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2010 rose 21.8% to RM52.07 million from RM42.73 million a year earlier, boosted by across the board price discounting to clear 2010 inventories ahead of new model introductions in 2011. Revenue for the quarter rose 16% to RM835.36 million from RM720.19 million a year ago. Earnings per share were 7.98 sen, while net assets per share was RM2.57.