By Shalini Kumar / theedgemarkets.com | February 11, 2015 : 9:22 PM MYT
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 11): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that could be in focus tomorrow (Thursday, Feb 12) could include: Westports Holdings Bhd ( Financial Dashboard), Dufu Technology Corp Bhd ( Financial Dashboard), glove makers, Knusford Bhd ( Financial Dashboard), Tenaga Nasional Bhd ( Financial Dashboard), Tanjung Offshore Bhd ( Financial Dashboard), Sona Petroleum Bhd, GHL Systems Bhd ( Financial Dashboard) and Perwaja Holdings Bhd ( Financial Dashboard).
Westports Holdings Bhd saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14) grown 6.6% to RM139.8 million or 4.1 sen per share, despite revenue having fallen 23.5% to RM384.49 million.
The group has proposed a second interim dividend of 6.15 sen per share for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY14), payable on March 11, 2015. This brings its total dividend to 11.25 sen, which is in line with its payout ratio of 75% of net profit.
For the full year, Westports’ net profit expanded 17.67% to RM512.21 million or 15.02 sen per share, while revenue slid 8.8% to RM1.56 billion.
Westports (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 0.9) expects its container throughput to grow between 5% and 10% this year, driven by both transhipment business, as well as the import and export segment.
Dufu Technology Corp Bhd said it has received a letter alleging certain senior management staff for having misappropriated company funds, amounting to approximately RM3.9 million.
Dufu (fundamental: 1.55; valuation: 1.2) said further to its emergency board meeting last Monday (Feb 9) on the matter, its board was "still unable to ascertain the factuality of such allegation, for the time being."
As a result, the board has set up an Independent Committee (IC), comprising three independent directors of Dufu, to coordinate and oversee the investigation process, said Dufu, a precision machining component manufacturer.
Glove makers could attract interests, as the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) has expected Malaysian producers to achieve a global market share of 65% by 2020.
Malaysian glove makers currently commands about 58% of the global market.
Malaysia recorded a 6.4% growth in the export volume of natural rubber gloves and a 0.3% growth in synthetic rubber gloves export, for the first nine months in 2014.
Knusford Bhd has entered into a joint-venture agreement with Shanghai Greenland Construction Co Ltd, to bid for major building jobs and infrastructure projects in Malaysia and the region.
In a statement today, Knusford (fundamental:1.25; valuation: 1.8 ) said its wholly-owned unit Kota Express Sdn Bhd, and Greenland Construction’s Malaysian entity — Greenland Malaysia Urban Development Sdn Bhd (GMUD), will form a new special purpose vehicle (SPV) to spearhead the strategic alliance.
The SPV is expected to be fully operational by this year, and is likely to bid for and participate in several major real estate development projects by the Greenland Group in Danga Bay and Tebrau Bay in Johor Bahru.
Aside from this, the SPV will also vie for other new and emerging construction and infrastructure jobs in the public and private sectors in Malaysia, and the region.
Tenaga Nasional Bhd announced that electricity tariff will be reduced by 5.8% or 2.25 sen per kWh, under the imbalance cost pass through (ICPT) formula, for consumers in Peninsular Malaysia, from March 1 until June 30, 2015.
Investors had reacted negatively to the news, with Tenaga’s (fundamental: 1.3; valuation: 1.8) share price falling 46 sen or 3.1% to close at RM14.40, with a market capitalisation of RM78.1 billion. The stock had touched an intra-day low of RM13.22, following the news.
Tanjung Offshore Bhd (fundamental: 1.95; valuation: 1.8) said it has lodged a police report today against two directors, Tan Sri Tan Kean Soon and Muhammad Sabri Ab Ghani, who have been suspended from their executive positions in the company, following the findings of an independent committee.
The company also rebuked Tan’s recent assertion in a press interview, that the allegations thrown to him had been one-sided, saying Tan had agreed and consented to the formation of the independent committee.
“The board also agreed to Tan’s request to include his personal legal advisor as an ex officio member of the independent committee… Tan’s personal legal adviser attended only the initial two meetings out of daily meetings conducted by the independent committee, over a two week period,” said Tanjung.
Sona Petroleum Bhd’s net loss for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 widened to RM19.5 million, from a net loss of RM5.6 million a year before.
There was no revenue recorded, as the special purpose acquisition company has yet to make a qualifying asset purchase.
For the full year, the group's net loss increased to RM28.5 million, up more than three-folds from RM6.3 million a year ago.
On prospects, the group said it is currently assessing and reviewing several potential qualifying assets.
GHL Systems Bhd has expanded its transaction payment acquisition (TPA) business to include the provision of an end-to-end system for cashless collection of loan repayments to the country’s largest microcredit organisation, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM).
GHL (fundamental: 1.4; valuation: 0.3) declined to specify how much it would be charging AIM per transaction, but said GHL could charge merchants like AIM less than the usual 0.8% charged by banks, due to its “lower overheads”.
Meanwhile, GHL said it has already invested US$1.5 million in capital expenditure to set up the cashless payment system, and to provide AIM’s 8,000 collection points with payment terminals. This e-payment infrastructure will be rolled out in the first quarter of 2015.
Ailing steel producer Perwaja Holdings Bhd has approached China-based alloy manufacturer Zhiyuan Investment Group Co Ltd for the possibility of capital injection, as well as to revive the former’s steel operations in Kemaman, Terengganu.
In an announcement to Bursa Malaysia today, Perwaja (fundamental: 0; valuation: 0) said it had entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Zhiyuan, for the latter to conduct a feasibility study on a proposal to invest in the steel producer.
Under the MoA, Zhiyuan could also propose to Perwaja, such business transformation model for the restructuring and revival of the latter’s steel operations in Kemaman.
(Notes: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company's profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations."