Business & Markets 2013
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Wednesday, 27 November 2013 20:34
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 27): Based on corporate announcements today, the stocks to watch on Thursday (Nov 28) may include the following:
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, AmBank Bhd (AMMB), RHB Bank Bhd and RHB Investment Bank Bhd (RHB Capital) today suffered a rating downgrade by Standard & Poor’s (S&P).
The international rating company has cut credit outlook for these four lenders on concerns over rising home prices and household debts in Malaysia.
It has revised its credit outlook to negative from stable for all the four banks. It has also lowered its long-term Asean regional scale rating on CIMB to BBB+ from A-.
Felda Global Ventures Bhd (FGV) reported an 89% fall in third quarter net profit from a year earlier while cumulative nine-month bottom line declined 18%.
This came mainly on lower prices for oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) and crude palm oil (CPO).
FGV said net profit fell to RM22.9 million in the third quarter ended September 30, 2013 (3QFY13) from RM207.71 million. Revenue declined to RM3.22 billion from RM3.77 billion.
Nine-month (9MFY13) net profit dropped to RM482.32 million from RM588.25 million. Revenue was lower at RM8.89 billion versus RM9.03 billion.
Despite the lower profit, FGV plans to pay a dividend of six sen a share for the quarter in review.
Axiata Group Bhd reported only a 1% rise in third quarter net profit from a year earlier mainly due to weaker performance at its Indonesian unit. High foreign exchange losses had also curbed bottom line
Axiata said net profit rose to RM715.05 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2013 (3QFY13) from RM709.92 million. Revenue rose to RM4.75 billion from RM4.54 billion.
Axiata said revenue had risen "on the back of consistent higher revenue contribution from all key operating companies except Indonesia, affected by strengthening of the ringgit against the Indonesian unit.
Axiata's cumulative nine-month net profit rose to RM1.97 billion from RM1.94 billion a year earlier. Revenue was higher at RM13.86 billion versus RM13.2 billion.
Genting Plantations Bhd saw a 60% plunge in net profit to RM36.3 million in its third quarter ended 30 Sept 2013, from RM91.4 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
But revenue for 3QFY13 rose 5% to RM342.5 million from RM326.6 million in 3QFY12.
For the nine months to September 2013, net profit declined 49% to RM122.7 million, from RM240.0 million in the previous corresponding period.
Cumulative revenue for 9MFY13 rose to RM976.2 million, up from RM893.2 million.
BIMB Holdings Bhd’s net profit for third quarter to September rose 24.6% to RM75.5 million, up from RM60.6 million in similar quarter a year ago.
This higher profit was achieved on the back of higher revenue of RM696.0 million, compared to RM641.6 million netted a year ago.
For the nine months to September 2013, profits rose to RM219.2 million from RM183.7 million netted in the previous year’s similar period. Revenue also rose to RM2.08 billion, from RM1.81 billion.
The company said its higher profitability for the nine months was mainly achieved on the back of higher operating results, improvement in allowances for impairment, as well as the non-recurrence of provision for contingent liability.
Titijaya Land Bhd, which made a strong trading debut on the main market of Bursa Malaysia today, closed at RM1.67 after rising 17 sen or 11% from its IPO price of RM1.50 per unit.
The third most actively traded stock had hit a high of RM1.92 in morning trades. The stock may become a target of profit-taking or may rise further.
KSL Holdings Bhd’s net profit jumped 61% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM68 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2013, from RM42 million a year ago.
Revenue soared 83% y-o-y to RM217 million from RM119 million.
For the nine-month period, profit earned RM183 million from RM93 million a year earlier, while revenue raked in RM566 million versus RM277 million in the previous corresponding period.
Mudajaya Group Bhd’s net profit fell 28% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM40 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2013. But revenue rose 11% y-o-y to RM391 million.
The mainly property diversified entity said for the nine-month period, profit chalked up to RM128 million from RM190 million, while revenue generated was RM1.201 billion versus RM1.352 billion in the previous corresponding period.
Mudajaya declared a third interim single tier dividend of 3 sen (15%) per share.
Keck Seng (Malaysia) Bhd’s net profit jumped 123% to RM42.6 million in its third quarter to September 2013, from RM19.1 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
Revenue for 3QFY13 however declined slightly to RM226.6 million from RM242.4 million in 3QFY12.
Net profit for the nine months to Sept 2013 rose significantly to RM111.1 million, from RM59.7 million in the previous corresponding period. But revenue fell 12% to RM684.3 million from RM774.8 million.
“The revenue in 3QFY13 as compared to 3QFY12 was lower due mainly to lower selling price of refined oil although there was an increase in quantity sold,” said the group in its statement to Bursa Malaysia.
Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd’s net profit rose 27% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM141 million in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2013, from RM111 million a year ago.
But revenue fell 18% y-o-y to RM829 million from RM1.014 billion.
Hap Seng declared a second interim dividend of 8 sen per ordinary share, payable on Feb 14 next year.
In a filing to Bursa Malaysia, the diversified group said the better profit but poorer revenue was attributed by mixed performances from its divisions.
For the nine-month period, profit stood at RM446 million from RM300 million a year earlier, while revenue collected was RM2.453 billion versus RM2.827 billion in the previous corresponding period.
Lion Industries Corp Bhd's net loss widened to RM54.33 million in the first quarter ended September 30, 2013 from a net loss of RM25.92 million a year earlier, due to wider loss at its steel production unit.
Lion Industries said revenue fell to RM1.05 billion from RM1.12 billion.
Kinsteel Bhd’s net loss for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013 widened to RM111.6 million, from RM16.4 million in similar quarter a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter fell to RM345.4 million from RM412.7 million in similar quarter a year ago.
For the 9 months to September, losses deepened to RM155.5 million from RM10.4 million. Cumulative revenue for the 9 months fell from RM1.5 billion to RM1.1 billion.
LBS Bina Group Bhd said its net profit for the third quarter to September soared to RM346.3 million, a leap from RM10.3 million in the third quarter of last year.
But it recorded lower revenue of RM135 million, compared to RM147.3 million a year ago.
For the 9 months ended 30 September 2013, the group recorded revenue of RM377.4 million and net profit of RM373.2 million.
LBS said the vast improvement in profit for the third quarter and nine months was mainly due to the gain from the disposal of subsidiaries and profit contribution from on-going property projects.