Business & Markets 2013
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Tuesday, 06 August 2013 19:08
KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 6): Based on corporate filings today, the stocks to watch tomorrow could include BHIC, Tenaga, Maxis, AFG, Hartalega, KUB and Green Packet.
BOUSTEAD HEAVY INDUSTRIES CORP []oration Bhd (BHIC) said it is on track to deliver good results for the current financial year ended December 2013, given the marked improvement in the first half of its results in 2013.
For the second quarter ended 30 June 2013, BHIC achieved a net profit of RM10.2 million on the back of a turnover of RM61.8 million. This compared with a loss of RM17.2 million a year ago.
“During the quarter, the heavy engineering and manufacturing segments continued to perform well, but the chartering segment reported a small loss as a result of higher operating costs,” said BHIC in a statement.
For the six months ended 30 June 2013, revenue posted was RM126.2 million, an 11% increase from RM114.1 million reported for the corresponding period the year before. The group reported net profit of RM15.3 million, compared with a net loss of RM31.4 million.
BHIC deputy chairman and managing director, Tan Sri Ahmad Ramli Hj Mohd Nor, said the positive results were mainly due to a significant contribution from its heavy engineering segment, which is no longer impacted by costs from the old shipbuilding projects.
On the outlook for the remainder of the year, Ramli said, “We are bullish about the potential that lies ahead.” He added BHIC is on track to secure new projects in its focus niches in commercial shipbuilding and the oil and gas sector.
TENAGA NASIONAL BHD [] (TNB) has been awarded by the Energy Commission (EC) the job to construct a 1,000MW power plant.
The state-controlled utility said it has accepted the letter of award for the project in Manjung, Perak.
"The project will have a positive impact on the consolidated earnings and net assets of TNB group upon completion and commencement of operation of the said project," TNB said.
According to TNB, the conditional award comes with several criteria. TNB said it is required to incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary to undertake the project and is required to execute the relevant project documents no later than Aug14, 2013.
"The financial close for the project is expected to be no later than January 2, 2014," TNB said.
Prior to the award, the EC had selected TNB as the preferred bidder for the proposed development of the power plant
Maxis Bhd reported a 14% rise in second quarter net profit from a year earlier as revenue rose.
In a statement to the exchange today, Maxis said net profit came to RM528 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2013 (2QFY13) versus RM464 million previously. Revenue rose to RM2.29 billion from RM2.21 billion.
First-half (1HFY13) net profit however fell to RM1 billion from RM1.04 billion a year earlier although revenue rose to RM4.62 billion from RM4.45 billion.
Group revenue grew 4% or RM176 million in the period under review (1HFY13); with positive contributions from all business segments.
Maxis plans to pay an interim single-tier tax-free dividend of eight sen a share for the quarter in review.
In addition, Maxis also said it has earmarked RM69 million from its cash flow hedging reserve to cover a similar amount in foreign exchange loss during the second quarter due to a weaker ringgit against the US and Singapore dollar.
ALLIANCE FINANCIAL GROUP BHD [] (AFG) announced that for the first financial quarter ended 30 June 2013 (1Q FY2014), it reported a net profit of RM137.8 million -- an increase of 10.6% over the corresponding quarter ended June 2012.
The financial group, comprising Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd and its subsidiaries, also saw its net income grow 14.0% year-on-year to RM364.2 million, mainly driven by higher net interest and non-interest income.
The banking group declared an interim dividend of 7.5 sen per share, versus 6.6 sen in previous year.
In a press statement, group chief executive officer Sng Seow Wah said: "The group recorded a return on equity of 13.5% and earnings per share of 9.0 sen for the first quarter.”
Sng said the improved performance was mainly due to the growth in interest income and recurring non-interest income.
“The group expects to deliver a satisfactory performance for the financial year ending 31 March 2014,” said the statement.
Hartalega Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended June 30, 2013, rose 17.9% to RM63 million compared to RM53.4 million a year earlier, on the back of a 12.2% increase in revenue to RM278 million from RM247.6 million.
Hartalega said its earnings per share increased to 8.56 sen from 7.30 sen for the same period in the previous year.
Net assets per share stood at 109.77 sen, it said.
Hartalega managing director Kuan Mun Leong said the company is confident of maintaining its pole position given its prospects ahead driven by the ongoing switching momentum from latex to nitrile gloves.
Kuan said global demand for nitrile gloves was growing at a steady rate of over 20% per annum and the company expects that this would be further buoyed by rising demand in key markets as well as emerging markets in the coming years.
KUB MALAYSIA BHD [] saw a turnaround in its second quarter results compared to similar quarter last year.
It posted a net profit of RM2.66 million for the quarter to June 30, 2013, compared to a net loss of RM2.66 million in similar quarter last year.
This was achieved on the back of an increase in revenue to RM247.81 million, from RM205.23 million.
For the six months to June 2013, the group posted a net profit of RM3.25 million compared to loss of RM6.79 million in the first half of last year.
Revenue for the first half of the year also rose to RM471.95 million from RM412.62 million.
GREEN PACKET BHD [] announced that its net loss for second financial quarter to end-June 2013 deepened to RM19.8 million, compared to net loss of RM17.9 million in the second quarter of the previous year.
Its net value per share also deteriorated to 15 sen, from 20 sen.
But the company achieved a higher revenue of RM150.9 million compared to RM138.3 million.
For the six months to June 2013, net loss totalled RM39.6 million, bigger than previous half year’s loss of RM32.6 million. Revenue increased to RM300.3 million from RM266.5 million.