Business & Markets 2013
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Tuesday, 23 April 2013 19:56
KUALA LUMPUR (April 23): Based on news flow and corporate announcements, the stocks to watch tomorrow (April 24) may include BAT, Public Bank, Coastal, Help, Digi, Censof, Kek Seng, UMW, Spritzer, Kimlun, TRIPLC.
British American Tobacco Bhd (BAT) reported a 5% rise in first quarter profit from a year earlier as higher revenue besides lower operating and finance expenses lifted the cigarette manufacturer's bottomline.
The tobacco giant said net profit came to RM204.2 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (1QFY13) compared to RM194.51 million previously.
BAT said revenue rose 6% to RM1.1 billion from RM1.04 billion as the firm registered "substantial growth" in contract manufacturing income.
BAT proposes an interim tax-free dividend of 68 sen/share.
PUBLIC BANK BHD [] reported a 4% rise in first quarter profit from a year earlier as higher interest and non-interest income lifted revenue.
Public Bank said net profit came to RM968.3 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (1QFY13) versus RM930.18 million previously. Revenue climbed 9% to RM3.67 billion from RM3.37 billion.
Looking ahead, Public Bank expects to sustain its strong market position in the domestic retail segment, supported by growth in consumer credit and loans to SMEs.
COASTAL CONTRACTS BHD [] has secured orders for nine offshore vessels with total value of RM434 million from global buyers.
The company’s executive chairman Ng Chin Heng said the orders comprise seven offshore support vessels (OSV) and two oil barges.
"These vessels are scheduled for delivery during 2013 and 2014. The revenue stream from these vessels is expected to contribute positively to the top and bottom line performance of the group for the financial years to end-2013 and end-2014.
"As of to date, Coastal group has approximately RM720 million worth of vessel sales orders awaiting delivery to customers up to 2014," Ng said.
Help International Corp Bhd expects its revenue this year to grow by 10% from RM117.1mil in 2012.
Help University vice-Chancellor and co-founder Datuk Dr Paul Chan told reporters today growth would be driven by its strong local and international education business.
Chan said the increase in student enrolment into the various campuses and an average fee increment of 10%-15% were some of the growth drivers.
He also said that the university has invested RM40 million to set up the Help International School, a private primary and secondary school, an ecologically "green" campus with its first intake expected in January 2014.
DIGI.COM BHD [] posted a 2.5% growth in net profit for its financial quarter ended March 31, 2013 (1QFY13), against the previous corresponding quarter, as it saw RM328.65 million in profit.
In 1QFY13, DiGi’s revenue was RM1.65 billion. The previous corresponding quarter’s net profit was RM320.64 million on revenue of RM1.57 billion.
The group declared a first interim dividend of RM295 million or 3.8 sen per share for 1QFY13. Last year, the dividend came in at 5.9 sen per share.
Censof Holdings Bhd said its wholly owned unit Century Software Sdn Bhd has received an award from Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia for a project named (eRAS) for a contract sum of RM6.1 million.
The tenure of the Project is for 19 months, commencing from 19 April 2013 until 18 November 2014.
The company said the project will contribute positively to the earnings per share and the future earnings of Censof group.
Keck Seng (Malaysia) Bhd said it is proposing a final Dividend of 6% less 25% tax in respect of the financial year ended Dec 31, 2012.
The company’s basic earnings per share rose to 23.44 sen in 2012, up from 20.73 sen in 2011.
Total dividend given out last year was 10 sen. Its net asset per share at end-2012 stood at RM5.12.
UMW HOLDINGS BHD [] announced that its 85% indirect unit UJD has been given an extension of a supply contract for Petronas Carigali for five years.
The contract value is worth US$130 million (about RM400 million).
The extension of the contract for UMW JDC Drilling Sdn Bhd (IJD) is for the provision of the semi-submersible drilling rig “NAGA 1” for Petronas Carigali Drilling Programme.
“The extension of the contract is expected to contribute positively to the earnings and net assets of UMW for the financial year ending 31st December 2013 and beyond,” the company told Bursa Malaysia.
SPRITZER BHD []’s net profit grew 35% year-on-year to RM5 million for its third quarter ended Feb 28, 2013, from RM3.7 million a year ago.
Spritzer said the higher profit was achieved on the back of higher sales and the overall reduction in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resin.
Its revenue climbed 26.3% to RM57.1 million from RM45.2 million in the previous corresponding quarter.
For its nine months ended Feb 28, 2013, the company posted a total net profit of RM13.3 million, up 55% from RM8.6 million a year earlier. Its revenue stood at RM151.4 million, increasing by 15.1% from RM131.5 million.
The company said it is confident it will be able to defend its leading position in the Malaysian bottled water industry.
Kimlun Corporation Bhd said its wholly-owned unit, Kimlun Sdn Bhd, has been given an award by KECK SENG (M) BHD [] to construct 268 houses, worth RM64.30 million, in Kulaijaya, Johor.
It said the CONSTRUCTION [] work is expected to be completed by July 2014.
The company said the project is expected to contribute to the earnings and net assets of Kimlun during the contract period.
TROPLC Bhd saw a jump in net profit to RM8.4 million for its third quarter ended Feb 2013, up from RM239,000 in similar quarter last year. This has raised its earnings per share to 13.12 sen, from 0.37 sen.
This was achieved on the back of RM49 million versus RM12 million.
The company said the stronger financials were due to contribution from its construction activity in building a university campus in Puncak Alam.