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 1556.42 DJ-279.65 CRUDE OIL100.13 RM2.9770

The potential merger of either Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) or CIMB Group Holdings Bhd with RHB Capital Bhd would bring the new enlarged entity not too far behind some of the largest banks in the region. The top regional banks in Asean include three Singapore banks DBS Group Holdings Ltd, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank Ltd (UOB) with market capitalisation of US$27.7bil, US$25.7bil and US$24.5bil respectively. While in terms of asset size, the Singapore banks remain at the top, a Maybank-RHB Cap merger could overtake DBS Group in terms of combined market capitalisation with US$28.8bil. The potential merger of CIMB-RHB, on the other hand, would see a combined market capitalisation of US$27.3bil, just marginally below DBS but would overtake both OCBC and UOB. In terms of asset size, DBS, OCBC and UOB stand at US$238bil, US$198.4bil and US$178.8bil respectively.

Following the dismissal of Primus (M) Sdn Bhd's petition against the sale of EON Capital Bhd (EON Cap) to Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLB), Primus now has to pay RM1.9mil in court costs. High Court Judicial Commissioner Varghese George Varughese ordered Primus to pay the sum to the 13 respondents in its suit EON Cap and nine of its board members, and three entities controlled by two of those board members.

Sarawak Energy Bhd (SEB), which will have the rights to the Bakun dam's power at a rate of 6.25 sen per kwh, has a firm utilisation rate of 50% from its four customers. The electricity from the Bakun dam which is priced at 6.25 sen/kwh with an annual hike of 1.5% under a power purchase agreement (PPA) between Sarawak Hidro Sdn Bhd and Syarikat Sesco Bhd confirmed a StarBiz report yesterday. StarBiz quoted sources saying the rate represented the cheapest tariff in Asian history but would be escalating at 1.5% per annum for 30 years.

SapuraCrest Petroleum Bhd (SapCrest) has signed an agreement with Real Mild Sdn Bhd and Labuan Shipyard and Engineering Sdn Bhd (LSE) for the subscription of 25 million new shares in LSE. The shares, according to SapCrest in a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday represented a 50% stake of the enlarged share capital of LSE.

Oil and gas services provider Dialog Group Bhd has entered into a joint-venture agreement with Vopak Terminal Pengerang BV, a unit of the Royal Vopak group, for the development of an independent deepwater petroleum terminal at Pengerang, Johor worth RM5bil. The company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that both parties had set up a joint-venture company - Pengerang Terminals Sdn Bhd - in which Dialog would hold a 51% stake and Royal Vopak the remainder.

Water concessionaire Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd is expected to register a loss this financial year following the adoption of a new accounting treatment that requires certain charges to be capitalised as intangible assets and amortised. Managing director Datuk Hashim Mahfar said in a statement yesterday that the IC Interpretation 12-Service Concession Arrangements, which were retrospective, had also resulted in a drop in shareholders' funds from RM1.5bil to RM35.6mil. However, Puncak Niaga has obtained a conditional waiver from being categorised a PN17 company until the announcement of its second-quarter results for the period ending June 30, 2012. (Under Bursa Malaysia rules, that would have been the case if a company's shareholders' funds fell below RM40mil).

Benalec expects to realise a net gain of RM34.93 million from the completion of separate agreements its units have entered for the disposal of land and joint venture for a mixed property development. Benalec on June 1 said its subsidiaries Sentosacove Development Sdn Bhd and Orientalcove Realty Sdn Bhd had entered into a sale and purchase agreement and joint venture agreement with Vista Selesa Development Sdn Bhd, respectively.

CBIP is selling its entire equity interests in Sachiew PLANTATION []s Sdn Bhd and Empressa (M) Sdn Bhd for a total of RM268.06 million. Sachiew is principally involved in the cultivation of oil palm and production of crude palm oil and palm kernel, while Empressa engages in the cultivation of oil palm and the operation of a palm oil mill. CBIP said the gross proceeds of RM268.06 million from the disposal would be utilised for its working capital including for financing receivables, inventories, and repayment of bank borrowings.

Bina Puri’s 80%-indirect owned subsidiary PT Megapower Makmur has received two contracts from PT PLN (PERSERO) to operate power plants in Indonesia.

FBMKLCI 1558.29 DJ+128.21 CRUDE OIL102.85 RM 2.9735

the biggest takeover battle in Malaysia's corporate history, banking heavyweights Malayan Banking Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd have declared their interest to wrest control of RHB Capital Bhd, which could cost over RM20bil. This development confirmed heated speculation in recent weeks that the country's largest and second largest banks, Maybank and CIMB respectively, were vying to take over RHB Cap, which is the fifth largest banking group. Sources said due to the rife market talk and “leaks”, Maybank and CIMB were directed by the central bank to disclose their interest to bid for RHB Cap to curb further speculation. Alongside this major takeover bid, is the sale of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank's (ADCB) 25% stake in RHB Cap.

Investor sentiment towards Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB)'s stock immediately turned positive, following Monday's announcement of a long-awaited power tariff hike, as evident in the rise of the company's share price yesterday. The counter gained 59 sen, or 9%, to close at RM7.11 yesterday. It also topped the list of most actively traded stock on Bursa Malaysia, with 89 million shares changing hands. TA Research in its report explained that the impact on TNB's FY11 earnings would slightly be negative as the higher tariff would only have two months' impact on revenue, that is, for July and August, since June bill would still be reflecting usage in May, in which the previous tariff still applied. The higher gas price, on the other hand, will have three months' impact, that is between June and August. In addition, the revised tariff was still based on coal price of US$85 per tonne, and Tenaga still had to absorb the differential to actual market rate of around US$120 per tonne.

Hydropower from the 2,400-megawatt Bakun Dam project is likely to be sold, on an escalating basis, at 6.25 sen per kilowatt (KwH) to Sarawak Energy Bhd, the state utility arm. Sources told StarBiz this represented the cheapest tariff in Asian history but would be escalating at 1.5% per annum for 30 years. “The tariff is expected to be sufficient to pay off all Federal Government debts in 15 years,'' said a source, adding that in total, the valuation came close to RM8bil. The power purchase agreement (PPA) signing between the Federal and Sarawak state governments is expected to take place today.

Maxis Bhd saw its first quarter net profit decline slightly by some 2% to RM539mil compared with RM552mil made a year ago due to higher borrowing costs. For the three-months ended March 31, Maxis made a revenue of RM2.13bil, or less by 1%, compared with RM2.15bil made a year ago. Revenue declined due to lower voice, interconnect and hubbing revenue. the company said the drop in interconnect revenue was due to reduction in mobile and fixed termination rates since July last year. Meanwhile, the decline in hubbing revenue was in line with the planned scale down in its hubbing business. Maxis declared a first interim single-tier tax exempt dividend of 8 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2011, to be paid on June 30, 2011.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) recorded a 20% jump in net profit to RM88mil for the first quarter ended March 31, led by strong demand for air travel. This was despite uncertainties in the aviation sector due to political tensions in the Middle East and earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Revenue rose 22%, or RM118mil, to RM610mil from RM498mil a year ago. However, the airport operator's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was marginally lower at RM189mil from RM190mil a year earlier.

Axiata Group Bhd reported a 40.5% year-on-year drop in net profit to RM548.4mil for the first quarter ended March 31. The lower net profit was attributed mainly to a 97.7% year-on-year dip in the group’s other operating income to RM7.5mil in the quarter under review. This was because there was a one-off gain from the disposal of shares in Indonesian unit PT XL Axiata Tbk of RM307.5mil recorded in the same period last year.

MMC CORPORATION BHD []’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose 29.5% to RM43.04 million from RM33.23 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher contributions from most of its divisions. Revenue for the quarter increased to RM2.23 billion from RM2.06 billion in 2010. Earnings per share was 1.41 sen while net assets per share was RM2.19.

Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose to RM5.39 million from RM1.48 million a year earlier, due mainly to lower sales and marketing expenses. Ajinomoto proposed dividend of 20 sen per share in respect of the FY ended Mrch 31, 2011 comprising a first and final gross dividend of nine sen; a nine sen tax-exempt dividend as well as special gross dividend of two sen per share. For the financial year ended March 31, Ajinomoto’s net profit rose to RM25.73 million from RM23.94 million, on the back of revenue RM316.17 million.

FBMKLCI 1542.84 CRUDE OIL 100.67 RM 2.9910

After several rounds of deferment and a long wait, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has finally gotten the green light to implement new electricity tariff rates which will help it mitigate the effects of higher gas prices. “As a result of the gas price increase, TNB's gas bill will increase by about RM1.5bil per year. “Due to the gas price increase, TNB will have to increase the electricity tariff to cover for the additional cost,” TNB president and CEO Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohd Nor said at a briefing yesterday. Tenaga has been allowed by the government to increase its base tariff by 2%. As a result, average tariff will increase by 7.12%; industrial consumers and commercial users will see an average hike of 8.3%, but Tenaga said there would be no increase to about 75% of households.

Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd (BHIC) signed a joint-venture deal with Prokhas Managers Sdn Bhd (PMSB) yesterday to supply artillery propellants to the Malaysian Armed Forces. Under the joint venture, a new company, namely Pyrotechnical Ordnance Malaysia Sdn Bhd, will produce double base artillery propellants at a plant located on a 21-acre site in Bentong, Pahang. The plant is due to begin production in the third quarter of next year.

Analysts are confident that Sime Darby Bhd is making progress with the portfolio review and divestment of non-core assets after suffering massive losses in the oil and gas division a year ago. The share price has also moved up especially since the announcement of the non-binding memoranda of agreement to sell the Teluk Ramunia fabrication yard to Petroliam Nasional Bhd for RM296mil and the Pasir Gudang fabrication yard to Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd for RM399mil. The conglomerate posted a net profit of RM820.1mil for the third quarter ended March 31 after suffering a loss of RM308.6mil in the same corresponding period last year on higher contribution from plantation, motors, industrial, and energy and utilities divisions. Revenue for the period under review also rose to RM10.6bil from RM7.6bil previously.

Oldtown Bhd is pricing its issue/offer price at RM1.25 per share for its initial public offering (IPO) of 96.4 million shares of RM1 each,  The company, which owns and operates the Oldtown White Coffee chain, aims to list on Bursa Malaysia's Main Market on July 11. According to its prospectus draft, the company is offering 63.4 million new ordinary shares for application by the Malaysian public, directors, eligible employees and business associates of Oldtown and its subsidiaries.

Malayan Flour Mills Bhd (MFM) has proposed a share split of every one existing ordinary share of RM1 each in the company into two new ordinary shares of 50 sen each. Based on the issued and paid-up capital of MFM of RM107.6mil comprising 107.6 million shares as at May 27, the share split would result in an issued and paid-up capital of RM107.6mil comprising 215.3 million shares. 

CIMB Group's first quarter results came in slightly below expectations but the second half will likely be boosted by stronger capital market activities, higher domestic net interest margin (NIM) and impact from various economic transformation projects. CIMB reported net earnings of RM917mil, representing an increase of 9.3% for the first quarter (Q1) of financial year (FY) 2011.

PLUS Expressways Bhd’s net profit for its first quarter ended March 31 rose by 75.3% to RM495.1mil as it received RM364mil of compensation in accordance with the terms in the current concession agreements.

PLUS said RM364mil of compensation was included in the current quarter under review.

TIME dotCom Bhd net profit for the first quarter ended March 31 surged 21.8% to RM22.9mil from a year ago due to higher revenue and improved margins. Revenue for the quarter increased 7.7% from the same quarter last year to RM70mil as a result of higher data earnings within its wholesale and corporate segments. TIME’s data business posted a 16% growth to contribute RM51.1mil in revenue. Earnings per share for the quarter also increase to 90 sen from 74 sen a year ago.

Proton unit Group Lotus plc has won the right to use the name “Lotus” within Formula 1, and entitled to race in its historic black and gold livery. Proton said the Chancery Division of the English High Court had on last Friday, May 27 had also ruled that 1MRT was in breach of the Licence granted to them by Group Lotus to race in Formula 1 under the name Lotus Racing and had awarded Group Lotus damages in respect of that breach.

Brem Holding Bhd net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 surged to RM26.72 million from RM2.12 million a year earlier, due mainly to the reversal of allowance for impairment of RM21.5 million.

The company proposed a gross dividend of five sen per share for the financial year ended March 31.

FBMKLCI 1548.69 DJ+38.82 CRUDE OIL100.46 RM2.9910

Sime Darby posted net profit of RM820.12 million in the third quarter ended March 31, 2011 compared with net loss of RM308.63 million a year ago. Revenue increased by 39.8pct to RM10.59 billion compared with RM7.57 billion. Earnings per share were 13.66 sen.

Land & General posted losses of RM3.22 million in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 compared  with net profit of RM12.91 million a year ago mainly due to losses in quoted investments. “The loss for the current quarter arose mainly due to  fair value loss of RM3.5 million recognised on its quoted investments, net interest expenses of RM1.1 million recognised from FRS 139 implementation, and share of losses from its jointly controlled entities of RM1.7 million,” it said.

Alam Maritim posted net losses of RM7.38 million on weaker performance by it offshore support vessels segment. Net loss for 1Q ended March 31, 2011 was a stark contrast of RM20.51 million a year ago.

Revenue fell 48% to RM34.68 million from RM66.87 million. Loss per share was 0.9 sen compared with earnings per share of 4.0 sen.

Kulim’s earnings jumped 105% to RM127.10 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 (1QFY11) from RM61.89 million a year ago. Its revenue climbed 34% to RM1.657 billion from RM1.234 billion while earnings per share were 10.12 sen compared with 16.40 sen a year ago.

IJM Corp swung into the red in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 with net loss of RM20.19 million versus a net profit of RM111.04 million a year ago due to its overseas operations. The losses were expected by the market as it would have to make provisions and losses in its international operations. Its operating profit before tax fell by 53.9% to RM75 million compared to RM163 million a year ago “following the provision made against contractual claims, recovery of receivables and project losses in some of the group’s overseas projects”. Its revenue rose 20.9% to RM1.047 billion from RM866.46 million mainly due to the CONSTRUCTION [], property, industry and infrastructure divisions. It announced an interim dividend of 7.0 sen a share.

KUB Malaysia Bhd, a telecommunications services provider, fell to its lowest level in more than two months after posting a first-quarter loss of RM5.04 million. The stock slid 2.1 per cent to 69.5 sen at 9:09 a.m. local time in Kuala Lumpur trading, set for its lowest close since March 18.

Malayan Flour Mills Bhd proposed a share split and special dividend of 62 sen per share, according to a company statement in Kuala Lumpur today. The company also proposed to raise as much as RM200.2 million from a rights offer, it said.

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.

FBMKLCI 1544.02 DJ+45.14 CRUDE OIL 99.32 RM 2.9920 

Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has dismissed Transmile’s appeal and the beleaguered air cargo transport company will be delisted on Tuesday, May 24. Bursa Securities said on Thursday, May 19 that it decided to dismiss the appeal after considering the facts and circumstances.

CBIP’s unit Modipalm Engineering Sdn Bhd has secured a RM32.28 million contract to build a palm oil mill in Sabah. CBIP secured a contract from Winsome Brantian Palm Oil Mill Sdn Bhd to build the mill with a capacity of 45 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches an hour.

FAVELLE FAVCO BHD [] has secured four contracts totaling RM50.30 million to build tower cranes for four clients. Its contract was to build an offshore crane for Keppel Fels Ltd and Cosco (Nantong) Shipyard Co., Ltd. The other two contracts were with Backam Engineering Corp and Form 700 Pty Ltd to supply a tower crane each.

Malton Bhd’s earnings surged 620% to RM26.28 million from RM3.64 million a year ago, underpinned by higher billings from the property development division. Its revenue increased by 79.4% to RM116.38 million from RM64.89 million while pre-tax profit increased by 512.7% to RM38.6 million from RM6.3 million. Earnings per share were 7.55 sen compared with 1.05 sen.

HUNZA PROPERTIES [] BHD [] reported net profit of RM11.13 million in the third quarter ended March31, 2011, a marginal increase from the RM11.07 million a year ago. Its revenue rose 13.3% to RM66.19 million from RM58.38 million while earnings per share were 5.92 sen compared with 6.94 sen.  It proposed a special interim single-tier dividend of 2.5 sen per share.

Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) has commenced operations at the Sanshui District Bainikeng Sanitary landfill which will solve the waste disposal problems in Sanshui District. Through an open tender and negotiation processes, BCorp said it was awarded The Sanshui District Bainikeng Sanitary landfill build-operate-transfer (BOT) project by the Land, Urban Management & Water Bureau of Sanshui District, formerly known as Construction Bureau of Sanshui District (CBSD) in Foshan City, China. BCorp said it had been granted the rights to build, operate and maintain the landfill for a concession period of 28 years and thereafter transfer the same back to CBSD at no cost.

Jotech Holdings Bhd, a Malaysian precision tool maker, rose the most in two months in Kuala Lumpur trading after first-quarter profit surged fivefold from a year earlier. The stock gained 7.7 per cent to 14 sen at 9:10 a.m. local time, set for its biggest gain since March 16

FBMKLCI 1541.27 DJ+80.60 CRUDE OIL 99.96 RM 3.009

TSH reported its 1Q2011 earnings surged 105% to RM23.95 million from RM11.26 million a year ago boosted by its Indonesian palm oil operation where fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production grew by 48%. Revenue rose 5.04% to RM252.59 million from RM240.47 million while earnings per share were 5.84 sen compared with 2.75 sen.

Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd’s net profit rose 14.5% to RM74.08 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 from RM64.67 million a year ago, boosted by the sale of its Nissan Teana. Revenue increased by 29.8% to a record high of RM1.13 billion from RM870.36 million. Earnings per share were 11.35 sen from 9.91 sen a year ago.

Encorp Bhd swung into the red in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 with net losses of RM378,000  compared with net profit of RM246,000 a year ago. The losses were despite a 33% increase in revenue to RM63.35 million from RM47.63 million. Loss per share was 0.17 sen compared with earnings per share of 0.12 sen.

DUTCH LADY MILK INDUSTRIES BHD []’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose 36.2% to RM28.34 million from RM20.81 million a year earlier, due mainly to higher sales, favourable sales mix and cheaper carry-over stocks. Revenue for the quarter rose to RM196.64 million from RM170.45 million in 2010. Earnings per share were 44.28 sen while net assets per share was RM3.53. It declared a special gross interim dividend of 30 sen per share in respect of the financial year ending Dec 31, 2011 to be paid on July 1.

Hard disk drive manufacturer JCY International Bhd’s net profit for the second quarter ended March 31, 2011 slumped 81% to RM12.46 million from RM65.88 million a year ago. The decline in earnings were due mainly to increase in the cost of production resulting from increase in the cost of raw materials like aluminium and stainless steel and also increase in labour cost. JCY’s revenue for the quarter fell 27.7% to RM397.43 million from RM549.69 million. Earnings per share were 0.61 sen while net assets per share was 43.08 sen.

For the six months ended March 31, JCY’s net profit tumbled to RM19.97 million from RM143.36 million, while revenue fell to RM836.34 million from RM1.08 billion in 2010.

Deleum Bhd which provides a diverse range of supporting specialised products and services for the oil and gas industry, has submitted tenders for contracts worth RM200mil. Group managing director Nan Yusri Nan Rahimy said the value of its current contracts stood at about RM1bil and they would end anywhere from the end of this year until 2016. The new contracts, meanwhile, were scattered between now and the middle of next year, he told reporters after the company's AGM here yesterday.

PJI Holdings Bhd, a Malaysian engineering services group, fell to a two-week low in Kuala Lumpur trading after its third-quarter net loss widened to RM6.15 million from a year earlier.  The stock slid 5.1 per cent to 18.5 sen at 9:41 a.m. local time, set for its lowest close since May 4.

Dutch Lady Milk Industries Bhd, a Malaysian dairy products maker, rose to a five-month high in Kuala Lumpur trading after announcing a 36 per cent jump in quarterly profit and plans for a special interim dividend. The stock climbed 1.1 per cent to RM17.76 at 9:08 a.m. local time, set for its highest close since Dec. 22

Latexx Partners Bhd, a Malaysian rubber-glove maker, rose in Kuala Lumpur trading after receiving an offer to merge with rival YTY Industry Holdings Sdn Bhd in a transaction valued at RM1.37 billion. The stock advanced 1.6 per cent to RM2.55 at 9:11 a.m. local time, extending yesterday’s 4.6 per cent gain. Latexx will buy four units of YTY by paying RM409.5 million in cash and the balance RM955.5 million in new stock at RM2.50 a share, the company said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur late yesterday.  Latexx will deliberate on the offer, which will remain open for 21 days, it said.

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.

FBMKLCI 1536.27 DJ-68.79 CRUDE OIL 97.78 RM 2.9720

US blue-chip stocks fell on Tuesday, extending Monday's losses after data showed the housing sector remained deeply depressed in April and Hewlett-Packard painted a dim picture for personal computer sales.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip stocks closed down 68.79 points (0.55 per cent) at 12,479.58.

EON CAPITAL BHD [] has declared a special tax exempt dividend of RM5.16 per share. The dividend will go ex on June 9 while the entitlement date is June 13.

United PLANTATION []s Bhd posted net profit of RM86.09 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, up 76% from RM48.90 million a year ago and it expects the current financial year results to be better, boosted by more replanting. It declared a final dividend of 20% per share or 15 sen net per share and a special dividend of 35% per share or 26.25 sen net per share. The dividends will go ex on June 30.

Investors can expect more upside from United Plantations after its comments that palm oil production in Malaysia and Indonesia was expected to recover in 2011 based on the recovery in the biological yield cycle after a pronounced setback in 2010.

Ideal Jacobs (Malaysia) Corp, a manufacturer of industrial labels and name-plates, surged on its listing debut on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange. The stock almost tripled to 70 sen at 9:02 a.m. local time in Kuala Lumpur trading. The company sold shares at 27 sen each in its initial public offering, according to its prospectus.

MMC CORPORATION BHD [] plans to list its subsidiaries -- Gas Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Malakoff Bhd -- and also its unit Johor Port. MMC group managing director Datuk Hasni Harun said the first company to be likely listed would be its 51% owned Gas Malaysia. Hasni said Malakoff is worth about RM7 billion currently while Gas Malaysia and Johor Port are worth RM5 billion and RM1.5 billion respectively.

IOI CORPORATION BHD [] reported net profit of RM656.71 million in the third quarter ended March 31, 2011, up 19.6% from the RM549.02 million a year ago, boosted by the better overall performance of the group, especially plantations. Its 3QFY11 pre-tax profit of RM780.86 million was 10% higher than the RM709.27 million a year ago. Revenue rose 37.7% to RM4.34 billion from RM3.15 billion while earnings per share were 10.25 sen versus 8.6 sen. For the nine-months ended March 31, 2011 (9MFY11), it said net profit was RM1.74 billion compared with RM1.52 billion a year ago. Revenue was higher at RM11.83 billion versus RM9.48 billion.

Digistar Corp Bhd’s earnings surged to RM4.57 million in its second quarter ended March 31, 2011 from only RM457,000 a year ago underpinned by better profit margins from its system integration and broadcast engineering projects. Its revenue jumped 91.5% to RM23.57 million from RM12.31 million a year ago while earnings per share were 2.31 sen compared with 0.26 sen.

FABER GROUP BHD []’s subsidiary and the joint venture partner have been unable to secure any of the business in the building maintenance services and clinical waste management in Brunei. Its 70% owned Faber Medi-Serve Sdn Bhd and its joint venture agreement (JVA) with Brufors Technical Services had acknowledged the JVA had lapsed as they had failed to sure any business.

ESSO MALAYSIA BHD []’s earnings surged 154% to RM154.82 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 from RM60.94 million a year ago, boosted by inventory holding gains. Revenue rose 30% to RM2.6 billion from RM2 billion reflecting higher average product prices and increased retail volume. Earnings per share were 57.30 sen compared with 22.60 sen.

AMMB Holdings Bhd, Malaysia’s fifth-biggest lender, said fourth-quarter profit rose to RM316.3 million from RM241.7 million a year earlier

FBMKLCI 1523.37 DJ+75.68 CRUDE OIL104.52 RM2.9570

Investors can look forward to two large initial public offerings (IPOs) coming on board the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia in the second half of this year. One is UOA Development Bhd, which is expected to be listed in June, with a potential market capitalisation of RM3bil. The other is Axis Global Islamic Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), a unit of Axis REIT Management Sdn Bhd. It is set to be the world's largest Islamic REIT, also valued at some RM3bil once it is listed.

Dialog Group Bhd said it was still bidding with potential Australian partner Roc Oil Co Ltd for contracts pertaining to Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) marginal oilfield developments. The company told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that Roc Oil was its business partner and was presently tendering for upstream oil and gas prospects in Malaysia with the possibility of a joint venture between the two companies if the tender was successful. “To date, Dialog and Roc Oil are still in the bidding process and have not entered into a joint-venture agreement and neither parties have received any letter of intent for marginal oilfield projects from Petronas,” it said.

Maybank is raising its deposit and base lending rates effective Wednesday. Its deposit rates will be revised upwards by up to 30 basis points, while its base lending rate (BLR) will be increased by 30 basis points from 6.30% per annum to 6.60% per annum.

RHB Bank Bhd is also raising the BLR from 6.30% per annum to 6.60% per annum, effective Wednesday.

Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) will announce on Friday plans to invest around RM50bil in an integrated downstream oil and gas complex in Pengerang, Johor, reliable sources said.

Shell Refining posted net profit of RM135.54 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, up 131% from RM58.61 million a year ago. Revenue increased by 29% to RM3.20 billion from RM2.48 billion while earnings per share were 45.18c versus 19.54 sen a year ago. Shell Refining reported after tax stockholding gains of RM153 million for 1Q11.

Hartalega’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011 rose 12.9% to RM52.39 million from RM46.41 million a year ago, driven by continuous expansion in production capacity, increase in demand, effective cost control and improvement in production processes. Revenue for the quarter was up 17.8% to RM192.52 million from RM163.39 million. Earnings per share were 14.41 sen while net assets per share was RM1.36.

HONG LEONG BANK BHD [] has proposed to increase the size of the renounceable rights issue by RM1 billion from RM1.6 billion to RM2.6 billion to further strengthen its capital base and for working capital purposes. HONG LEONG FINANCIAL GROUP BHD [] is providing a RM2.3 billion loan Hong Leong Bank to assist it with its risk weighted capital adequacy ratio (RWCAR).

FBMKLCI 1519.41 DJ+45.94 CRUDE OIL101.37 RM 2.9570

The ringgit, Asia's best performing currency since last year, is expected to strengthen further on the weakness of the US and its economy. RAM Holdings Bhd group chief economist Dr Yeah Kim Leng said the Government was on the right track in raising the overnight policy rate (OPR), which would increase the likelihood of the ringgit strengthening further. He said the ringgit would strengthen to RM2.90 to the US dollar by year-end because the growth prospects in the United States' economy were still dim. “The dollar will continue to decline as it is still mired in its housing and financial bubble,” Yeah told a media briefing following the rating agency's AGM yesterday.

Airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) would likely see passenger volume grow at a slower pace between 7% and 8% this year, after posting a 12.7% growth last year driven by growth in international and domestic passengers. Although MAHB recorded a 12% passenger volumes growth in the first quarter of this year, its passenger movement could soften in the coming quarters as full service carriers feel the effects of higher oil prices, said analysts. “However, MAHB's passenger growth is projected to remain relatively resilient as the airport should also capture the shift in passenger traffic from full service to low cost flights. We nudged down our passenger growth projection to 7% this year (from 8%) after taking into account the potentially adverse impact of higher fares - in view of high oil prices on travel demand,” HwangDBS Vickers Research said in a report mid last month.

three questions about TCUBES being hotly debated about:

Why did Commerce Technology Ventures (CTV), a long time investor in Tricubes, sell 14.5 million shares (which amounted to most of its shareholding in Tricubes) from April 24 to 27, days after details of its involvement in the 1Malaysia email project were revealed?

Was the Performance Management & Delivery Unit (Pemandu) right to spend all that money in two full page advertorials that appeared last week, to defend the 1Malaysia email project, considering that the project is a private sector initiative by Tricubes?

Are Tricubes shares a good buy now, considering that its share price has retreated somewhat over the last few days?

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/10/business/8649761&sec=business

Ajiya Bhd will invest RM15mil this year to expand operations at its four metal roll forming and safety glass processing plants in Malaysia. Managing director Chan Wah Kiang said the move would further strengthen its position as the leading player in the metal roll and safety glass processing activities in the region. The plants are located in Senai, Johor; Shah Alam, Selangor; Bukit Minyak in Penang and Sungai Petani in Kedah. Demand would come from several upcoming redevelopment projects in Kuala Lumpur, the Riverside City project in the Klang Valley, the Greater Kuala Lumpur and Iskandar Malaysia, he said.

Berjaya Capital Bhd (BCapital) yesterday entered into a share purchase agreement with Sompo Japan Asia Holdings Pte Ltd (SJAH) for the proposed disposal of its 40% stake in Berjaya Sompo Insurance Bhd (B-Sompo) for RM496mil cash. Berjaya Corp said the consideration of RM496mil or about RM10.51 per B-Sompo sale share represented a price-to-book ratio of about 3.3 times based on the latest audited net asset per B-Sompo share as at April 30, 2010 of RM3.18, a premium of RM7.34 above the audited net tangible asset per B-Sompo share as at April 30, 2010 of RM3.17. It is also a price-earnings multiple of 16.49 times based on the latest audited net earnings per B-Sompo share for the financial year ended April 30, 2010 of 63.7 sen. The proposed disposal is expected to be completed this year.

Dialog Group and its Australian partner Roc Oil are said to be on the verge of bagging the marginal oilfield projects from Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) for Balai and Bentara fields, located off the coast of Sarawak.

Bertam Alliance’s unit has inked a joint development agreement for a mixed development project of residential and commercial shoplots in Johor with a gross development value (GDV) estimated at no less than RM400 million.

KrisAssets posted net profit of RM35.44 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, which was a 31.2% increase from the RM27.01 million a year ago, mainly due to higher total rental income and lower finance and utility costs in the current quarter. Revenue increased by 7.7% to RM63.46 million from RM58.89 million. Earnings per share were 8.17 sen compared with 8.02 sen.

V.S. Industry Bhd (VSI) unit V.S. Plus Sdn Bhd has been appointed by US-based Keurig Incorporated (Keurig) as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partner to produce Keurig’s Single-Cup coffee brewers. V.S. Plus would begin manufacturing Keurig branded single-cup brewers as well as some system-related accessories at a new plant that was acquired in October 2010 for RM12.3 million. Keurig is a unit of NASDAQ-listed Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., a company involved in specialty coffee and coffeemakers in the US.

FBMKLCI 1515.50 DJ+54.57 CRUDE OIL 98.26 RM 2.9765

Recently, Ramunia Holdings Bhd unveiled a regularisation plan to address its Practice Note 17 (PN17) status that involved a proposed capital reconstruction, rights issue and business rejuvenation plan. Investors obviously didn't like the idea of pumping even more money into a shell company, and this was seen in its share price which was sold down 8 sen to 56 sen on Wednesday. As of Friday, the stock was down 0.5 sen to 55sen. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Ramunia said under the capital reconstruction, it would cancel 25 sen from the par value of the existing ordinary share of 50 sen each, or which the credit would be used to off-set against the accumulated losses of the company.

SHARE prices on Bursa Malaysia will likely continue its downtrend this week with rising interest rates and a massive sell-off in commodities expected to be the biggest drag on the local bourse. Head of Retail Research, Affin Investment Bank, Dr Nazri Khan said the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) is expected to continue its downward correction to test the psychological 1,500 support level.

“We believe the old bearish stories are back again with investors worrying about the global double-dip recession and sovereign debt crisis in the developed world,” he added.

EON Capital will distribute the RM312 million, or 44.9 sen per share, which it will receive as special dividend from its unit EON Bank Bhd to all its entitled shareholders. The dividend was proposed by EONCap on April 29 and agreed by HONG LEONG BANK BHD [] as a last-minute extra condition to the latter’s acquisition of EONCap’s assets and liabilities for RM5.06 billion.

Coastal Contracts proposed a corporate exercise involving a bonus issue and free warrants to its shareholders and also to purchase up to 10% of its paid-up capital. It said on Friday, May 6 said it proposed a one-for-three bonus issue and one free warrant for every eight shares held after the proposed bonus issue.

Hap Seng Consolidated posted a strong set of earnings in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, with net profit surging 108% to RM82.17 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011 from RM39.48 million a year ago. Revenue rose 28% to RM751.34 million from RM587.18 million while earnings per share doubled to 14.58 sen from 7.01 sen.

Fitters Diversified Bhd does not expect to be suspended on Tuesday after it submitted its outstanding annual audited financial statements for financial year ended Dec 31,2010 to Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd on Friday, May 6. “There will be no suspension of trading in the above company's securities on May 10,” it said.

Fitters Diversified was due to submit the statements to Bursa Securities for public release on or before April 30. However, due to the delay, it had initially faced suspension on May 10.

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MMHE) posted pre-tax profit of RM114.08 million in the four quarter ended March 31, 2011, down 35.7% from RM177.45 million a year ago. The decrease was mainly due to lower revenue in engineering and CONSTRUCTION and marine repair and conversion segments. However, its net profit was up 11.7% at RM128.64 million compared with RM115.15 million a year ago. There was a tax writeback of RM14.43 million compared with tax paid of RM60.03 million a year ago. Its revenue fell 41.9% to RM923.29 million from RM1.59 billion a year ago. Earnings per share were 8.0 sen versus 8.6 sen.

Ranhill Bhd could issue another tranche of debt papers, amounting to about RM700 million, according to sources familiar with the company.

FBMKLCI 1521.18 DJ-140.32 CRUDE OIL100.27 RM 2.9570

Markets could continue to see cautious trade on Friday, May 6, with focus on banks after Bank Negara Malaysia raised the overnight policy rate (OPR) and statutory reserve requirement (SRR). After market close, Bank Negara Malaysia raised the OPR by 25 basis points to 3% during its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Thursday. The central bank said the floor and ceiling rates of the corridor for the OPR were correspondingly raised to 2.75% and 3.25% respectively. 

Fraser & Neave posted net profit of RM131.98 million in the second quarter ended March 31, 2011 versus RM85.23 million a year ago, boosted by the sale of a college building.

Revenue was RM1 billion compared with RM872.09 million. Earnings per share were 36.80 sen versus 23.90 sen. It declared a special interim single tier dividend of 15 sen per share and an interim single tier dividend of 20 sen per share.

Pos Malaysia has viewed TRICUBES BHD []’s venture to send government notices via email as a threat and it would explore ways how it could participate in the project. “We know that this will be a significant threat to the physical mail business,” said Pos Malaysia CEO and group managing director Datuk Syed Faiusal Albar. He said that government mail amounted to RM20 million of its annual revenue.

Daibochi posted net profit of RM4.6 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2011, down 7.4% from RM5 million a year ago as raw material prices rose.

FBMKLCI 1528.43 DJ-83.93 CRUDE OIL108.62 RM2.9450

New stock listing

No.  Stock  Code    Stock Name     Reference Price      Lower Limit     Upper Limit

1.    0168                BOILERM          0.33                          0.03                  1.65

Boilermech designs and manufactures biomass boilers. Its offer price is 33 sen while OSK Research has fair value of 45 sen.

Fitters, whose share price fell after it faced the threat of suspension on May 10, said it had set Friday as the deadline to submit the audited financial statement to avoid suspension.

Ingenuity, which was queried over unusual market activity, will sign an MoU on Thursday, to submit an integrated hospital information system to the Health Ministry. The system is to interlink hospitals and clinics in Malaysia to the ministry

Pos Malaysia holds its shareholders meeting late Thursday morning. There are expectations of strong response from minority shareholders over the acquisition of Khazanah Nasional’s stake in the national postal company by DRB-Hicom.

Seven companies have been shortlisted for the first phase of the US$2.5 billion (RM7.45 billion) infrastructure of Brazil’s Vale International project. Among them are MUHIBBAH ENGINEERING (M) BHD [], Gadang Bhd and Sunway CONSTRUCTION [] Bhd.

Bursa Securities has rejected construction firm Golden Plus Holdings Bhd’s application for an extension of two weeks for the submission of the company’s audited financial statements for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2010.

 

Lion buys stake in S’pore steel firm.
Lion Industries Corp Bhd (LICB) will be acquiring a 50% stake in Angkasa Hong Leong Pte Ltd, from Hong Leong Asia Ltd for S$15.3mil (RM36.6mil) as it looks to expand into the downstream steel operations business.
Property developer Mutiara Goodyear Development Bhd is acquiring 40% stake in Palmington Sdn Bhd, a unit of Tambun Indah Land Bhd, for RM2.34mil cash in a move to jointly develop 527 acres in Seberang Perai.