Business & Markets 2013
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Monday, 18 February 2013 20:01
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 18): Based on announcements to Bursa Malaysia, the stocks to watch on Tuesday (Feb 19) could include Tasek, Mudajaya, Unisem, Pharmaniaga, Salcon, Box Pak and Hovid.
TASEK CORPORATION BHD [] reported a 38% drop in fourth quarter net profit from a year earlier as the cement and concrete manufacturer sold less building materials at lower prices due to intense market competition.
Tasek said net profit in the quarter ended December 31, 2012 came to RM20.75 million, against RM23.44 million previously, while revenue declined 20% to RM133.78 million from RM167.24 million.
The firm’s full-year net profit also fell 11% to RM91.89 million from RM103.16 million a year earlier while revenue was down 0.3% to RM564.54 million from RM566.19 million.
Despite weaker results, Tasek declared total dividends of 90 sen a share less 25% income tax for 4QFY12 comprising, final and special payouts of 30 sen and 60 sen respectively.
MUDAJAYA GROUP BHD []’s net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2012 came in at RM47.21 million, or 29% lower than a year ago.
Revenue was down by 29.5% at RM303.73 million as compared to the previous year.
But on a full year basis, the company’s net profit increased by 2.63% to RM237.1 million on revenue of RM1.66 billion, which also increased by 22.87%.
The company attributed the better performance in 2012 to higher sale of CONSTRUCTION [] materials while its property segment enjoyed higher sales from new launches.
Unisem Bhd said its net loss widened in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, as lower selling prices and a firmer ringgit dragged down its revenue.
Bottom line of the semiconductor company was also hit by a reduction in the value of the company's assets, retrenchment cost, provisions and write-offs of inventory and receivables.
Unisem said net loss came to RM19.5 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012, against a net loss of RM2.53 million previously, while revenue declined 1.4% to RM269.44 million from RM273.18 million.
Its full-year results also saw net loss of RM32.31 million, compared with a net profit of RM19.85 million a year earlier, as revenue fell 6% to RM1.09 billion.
Looking ahead, the firm expects outlook to be “challenging” due to global economic uncertainties.
PHARMANIAGA BHD [] has proposed a share split, followed by a bonus issue. The split will subdivide every one existing share of RM1 each into two shares of 50 sen each, and after this share split, the company will embark on a bonus issue on the basis of one bonus share for every 10 subdivided shares.
Meanwhile, the company reported a net loss of RM7.93 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2012 due to goodwill impairment of a subsidiary and amortisation of rights to supply in relation to its acquisition of a company.
However, the pharmaceutical company’s revenue rose in the fourth quarter, up 31.16% at RM482.4 million, compared to a year ago, on higher demand from government and private sectors and the consolidation of its newly acquired unit.
On a full year basis, the company’s net profit rose 18.32% to RM61.71 million from RM52.18 million a year ago, while revenue advanced 19.16% to RM1.81 billion.
SALCON BHD [], a water and wastewater solutions provider, announced it has bagged a RM14 million sewerage project from the Sewerage Services Department, Ministry of Energy, Green TECHNOLOGY [] and Water.
Salcon said the contract was received through its wholly-owned unit Salcon Engineering Bhd. The works encompass designing, building and rehabilitating the current seven public sewage treatment plants in Selangor to class one.
Salcon said the project, expected to complete in 24 months, is likely to contribute positively to its earnings.
Box-Pak (M) Bhd posted a net profit of RM4.03 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2012, a 21% plunge from last year’s RM5.08 million, due to loss from a cross currency swap.
However, the group reported higher revenue of RM72.4 million compared to RM70.3 million recorded for similar quarter a year ago.
Pharmaceuticals products manufacturer HOVID BHD [] posted a net profit of RM4.3 million for the second quarter to end-December 2012, down 61% from RM11.04 previously, but revenue rose 6.59% rise to RM43.17 million.
“The poorer result was mainly due to the lower profit margin arising from increase in staff costs, operational expenses and promotional discounts given,” Hovid said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia today.
The group expects its outlook to be “satisfactory” based on the fact that it is actively securing new overseas markets and registration of new products.