Stocks to Watch* YHS, E&O, VS Industry, Quality Concrete

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 28): The FBM KLCI could sustain its gains on Friday ahead of the tabling of Budget 2013, supported by local institutional funds that helped prop the market up to a one-week high on Thursday.


Investors would be anxiously awaiting the Budget 2013 announcement, the final one before the 13th general election that has kept market punters on tenterhooks for several weeks.


Asian and European shares meanwhile reclaimed some of Wednesday's sharp losses and the euro steadied on Thursday, amid hopes Spain's budget could nudge Madrid towards a rescue programme and allow the European Central Bank to launch into a new bond-buying plan, according to Reuters.


Eurozone worries have roared back into focus over the last week as the feel-good factor of recent central bank stimulus has given way to renewed uncertainty over Spain's willingness to submit to a politically painful rescue programme, it said.


Among the stocks that could be in focus on Friday are Yeo Hiap Seng (Malaysia) Bhd (YHS); Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O); VS Industry Bhd; and Quality Concrete Holdings Bhd.


YHS is to be privatised by its largest shareholder Yeo Hiap Seng (Singapore) Pte Ltd (YHS S'pore), as the latter received 88% nods from the minority shareholders of YHS in an extraordinary general meeting held on Thursday.


YHS S'pore proposed the selective capital reduction exercise for 214.58 million of YHS shares on May 30, 2012 at the cash repayment sum of RM3.60 per entitled share, for a total cash consideration of RM772.49 million.


The offer price of RM3.60 per entitled share was a premium of approximately 18.03%, 29.96% and 61.43% over the 5-day, 3-month and 1-year value weighted average price of YHS Malaysia's share price up to May 28, 2012.


Property developer E&O plans to launch PROPERTIES [] worth RM2.5 billion within the next 18 months, with half of targeted sales due to come from both its local and overseas ventures.


"The past year has seen E&O extending our footprint to new growth areas in Iskandar Malaysia and London. While While E&O continues to realise value and strengthen our landbanks in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, we will also be focusing on launches at our new landbanks in the coming year," E&O deputy managing director Eric Chan Kok Leong said in a statement at its annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday.


"In fact, half of the targeted sales value over the next 18 months will come from Iskandar Malaysia and London," he added.


VS Industry posted a net profit of RM9.73 million or 5.37 sen per share for its fourth quarter (4Q) ended July 31, from a loss of RM3.96 million a year ago, on the back of higher sales orders.


Revenue for the period under review rose 40.11% to RM366.89 million compared to RM261.86 million previously.


VS Industry declared a fourth interim single tier dividend of 6 sen per share.


In a filing on Bursa Malaysia, it said that its stronger earnings were the result of higher sales orders from its key customers. However, this was partly mitigated by lower margins caused by increased competition in the electronic manufacturing services sector and higher losses from an associate company in China.


"We believe that our strong manufacturing capability and high cost-efficiency places us well in meeting the requirements of quality-centric customers," said managing director Gan Sem Yam in a statement on Thursday.


Quality Concrete's net profit for the second quarter ended July 31 fell 8.5% to RM1.65 million or 2.85 sen a share from RM1.79 million a year earlier, despite recording higher turnovers.


The cement manufacturer's revenue rose 79.1% to RM79.9 million from RM44.6 million a year ago.


In a filing to Bursa Malaysia Thursday, the company said its CONSTRUCTION [] and development division continued to register better results mainly from the on-going water reticulation project.


"While the ready-mixed, HDPE pipes and timber product divisions have slowed down in terms of revenue in the current quarter, the revenue from the construction and development division was mainly derives from the water reticulation project that is currently ongoing," it said.