Business & Markets 2013
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Wednesday, 13 February 2013 19:43
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Based on news flow and company announcements to Bursa Malaysia, the stocks to watch on Thursday (Feb 14) could include Ahmad Zaki, KKB Engineering, PLANTATION []s stocks, KSTB and B-TECH.
CONSTRUCTION [] group AHMAD ZAKI RESOURCES BHD [] (AZRB) announced it has entered into a 50-year concession agreement with the government for the construction, completion, operation, management and maintenance of the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) highway.
AZRB said the total construction costs are estimated to be RM1.55 billion and added that the government has agreed to provide a loan of RM635 million, with an annual interest rate of 4%.
The agreement grants AZRB the right to undertake EKVE’s design, construction and collection of toll on the highway. The group will be responsible for maintenance of EKVE.
AZRB’s share price, which has been on a consistent decline since since March 2012’s RM1.05, closed one sen higher at 71.5 sen. It may stir on this major announcement.
KKB ENGINEERING BHD [] announced it has bagged a job from Apex Energy Sdn Bhd-PT Rekayasa Industri consortium with a contract sum of RM32.8 million.
The letter of award for the sub-contract work for the supply and fabrication of steel structure for the Samur Project in Sabah, is scheduled to be completed within 14 months from commencement date -- which will be known when a formal contract is entered into.
The company said that the contract is expected to contribute positively to the earnings and net assets for the calendar year ending 2013.
Plantation counters, which rose in afternoon trades on news of a 1.9% decline in palm oil inventory for January 2013, may continue to climb if investors turn optimistic about the sector following the first fall in stocks level in months. Inventory level was expected to fall in December, but it did not.
Palm oil stocks declined 1.9% to 2.58 million tonnes from December’s record high of 2.63 million, according to data released by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) at noon today (Feb 13 noon).
Shares of KUALA LUMPUR KEPONG BHD [], IOI Corp Bhd, Kulim Bhd and Tradewinds Plantations Bhd posted gains today.
MIDF Research’s plantation analyst Nur Nadia Kamil said inventory levels should return to the 2 million tonnes in 3-4 months due to strong demand from China.
KEJURUTERAAN SAMUDRA TIMUR BHD [] (KSTB) announced it has been awarded a two-year contract by MDC Oil & Gas (SK 320) Ltd to provide tubular running equipment and services.
KSTB said the contract is expected to contribute positively to the revenue and future earnings of KSTB Group.
“There is no indication on the value of the contract in the award and it is subjective depending on the activities level by MDC throughout the contract period,” it said in a filing with Bursa, without giving other details.
BRITE-TECH BHD [] (B-TECH) was publicly reprimanded by Bursa Malaysia for failing to ensure that its results for the fourth quarter ended December 2011 took into account the adjustments as stated in BTECH’s announcement dated 19 April 2012.
B-TECH reported an unaudited profit after tax and minority interest of RM1.41 million in 4Q11, compared to an audited profit after tax and minority interest of RM3.05 million in BTECH’s annual audited accounts for the financial year ended 31 December 2011, which was announced on 20 April 2012.
The variance of RM1.63 million between the unaudited and audited results represented a deviation of 116%, said Bursa.