Business & Markets 2013
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Tuesday, 29 October 2013 19:40
KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 29): Based on corporate announcements today, stocks that may be exciting to watch tomorrow could include Perstima, KLCCP, CMMT, Tropicana, Pensonic, Puncak, Kimlun and SunwayREIT.
Perusahaan Sadur Timah Malaysia Bhd (Perstima) said its net profit for second quarter to Sept 30, 2013, had risen 127% year on year to RM11.4 million, due to higher profit margin coupled with increase in sales.
The producer of tinplate said its revenue for the quarter stood at RM171.2 million, up 2.6% compared to corresponding period in the previous year due to increase in sales volume despite lower selling price.
The company declared an interim dividend of 20.0 sen per share less 25% income tax (previous corresponding period: 13.5 sen less 25% income tax per share). This will be payable on Dec 5, 2013.
For the six months to Sept 30, Perstima’s net profit rose to RM19.2 million from RM6.8 million a year ago. But revenue fell to RM323.4 million, from RM351.7 million.
KLCC Property Holdings Bhd’s (KLCCP) net profit plunged 85% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM118 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2013.
But 3Q revenue climbed 14% y-o-y to RM322 million from RM283 million.
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, the property investor and facility management service provider attributed its larger revenue to increases in revenue from its office property investment and retail property investment.
It also said its hotel operations and management services segments raked in higher revenues.
Meanwhile, KLCC Property recorded year to date nine-month net profit of RM452 million from RM1.4 billion a year ago and chalked up revenue of RM948 million versus RM847 million a year earlier.
The group declared an interim dividend of 8.28 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2013.
“Going forward, the directors are of the view that the performance for the remainder of FY13 will be in line with expectation,” said KLCC Property.
“However, the hotel segment will continue to trade in a challenging environment.”
CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust (CMMT) announced that it has decided not to pursue further with the proposed acquisition of properties owned by Tropicana Corporation Bhd.
In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, CMMT said both parties “are unable to mutually agree on the terms of the sale and purchase agreement”.
On Aug 23, CMMT said Tropicana City Sdn. Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tropicana Corporation, offered to sell to CMMT the following properties within Selangor: -
(1) A four-storey shopping mall known as “Tropicana City Mall” and part of lower ground; and
(2) A 12-storey office building known as the “Tropicana City Office Tower”.
Pensonic Holdings Bhd recorded an increase of 14.7% in net profit to RM3.89 million for its first quarter ended August 31 (1QFY14), from RM3.39 million a year earlier, due to increase in demand during Hari Raya Festival.
Revenue for the period under review also increased to RM105.71 million, from RM93.86 million a year ago.
The group said the revenue from the business operation in Malaysia remains strong with 8.1% growth.
“The group’s continual efforts to grow its export sales in Myanmar, Vietnam and Middle-East have fared very well,” it said.
Looking ahead, the group anticipates that competition will remain intense.
Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd and other water companies may rekindle interest after Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said today the state government is preparing the text arrangements with the Federal Government in order to complete the long-standing water restructuring issue in the Selangor state.
"By November, we will be busy doing negotiations (to take over water assets in Selangor)," he told reporters here today. Khalid also reiterated that he expects the takeover exercise to take place by year-end.
Kimlun Corportation Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary Kimlun Land Sdn Bhd has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Bina Plastic Industries Sdn Bhd for the disposal of land for RM46.5 million in cash.
In an announcement to Bursa today, the group said the disposal of nine parcels of freehold agriculture land en bloc, measuring approximately 17,266 ha, is located in Mukim Setul, Seremban in Negri Sembilan.
It noted that the disposal of the land is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2014.
It added the disposal will enable Kimlun Land to immediately unlock the value of its land bank and free up its capital.
It noted that part of the sale proceeds from the disposal would be utilised for repayment of bank borrowings.
The disposal is expected to reduce the gearing ratio and contribute to the earnings, EPS and NA of the group for the financial year ending December 31, 2014, it added.
Sunway Real Estate Investment Trust’s (Sunway REIT)’s net property income rose 5.8% year-on-year to RM77 million from RM73 million in the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2013.
Similarly, the first quarter revenue climbed 0.4% y-o-y to RM100 million from RM99.8 million.
In a filing to the stock exchange, Sunway REIT attributed the higher net property income growth mainly to revenue contribution from Sunway Medical Centre.
Sunway REIT said the contribution from Sunway Medical Centre, which was acquired in Dec 2012, and healthy growth from major retail assets, namely Sunway Pyramid and Sunway Carnival Shopping Mall, had contributed to higher revenue.
Despite so, it said the performance was affected by lower contribution from the hospitality segment.
Datuk Jeffrey Ng, CEO of Sunway REIT Management Sdn Bhd, said, “We observe the operating environment in the hospitality and office segments are getting more competitive.”
Additionally, Ng said his focus for this financial year is to ensure that the massive asset enhancement initiative plans are well executed.