Business & Markets 2013
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Thursday, 02 May 2013 20:41
KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, some stocks that may attract investor attention tomorrow (May 3) include Luxchem, New Hoong Fatt, Maxis, Daya, glove stocks and Suria Capital.
LUXCHEM CORPORATION BHD [], industrial chemicals manufacturer, said its net profit dropped 29% in the first three months of the current financial year from a year earlier due to higher raw material prices.
Luxchem said its bottom line was also curbed by a competitive market which prevented the firm from increasing its products’ prices.
It reported a net profit of RM4.51 million for its first quarter ended March 31, 2013 (1QFY13) against RM6.35 million previously.
Its revenue, however, increased 9.1% to RM140.86 million from RM129.07 million. The company said this was mainly due to its trading segment generating more sales.
NEW HOONG FATT HOLDINGS BHD [] reported a 65% rise in first quarter profit from a year earlier as the automotive component maker’s lower production cost lifted its bottom line.
NHF said net profit came to RM6.76 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (1QFY13) compared to RM4.1 million previously. Revenue rose 0.5% to RM54.31 million from RM54.02 million.
"The increase in profit was mainly due to lower manufacturing cost," NHF said.
Looking ahead, the firm expects the remaining quarters of the current financial year to be “challenging” due to a still-weak global economy.
Maxis Communications Bhd’s 74% Indian unit, Aircel, recently initiated informal talks with bankers regarding a possible corporate debt restructuring on the grounds that it would find it increasingly difficult to service its debt, reported The Economic Times of India.
It said lenders to Aircel, India's seventh-largest cellular company by subscribers, are taking pre-emptive action to prevent their loans, amounting to Rs 23,000 crore (US$4.3 billion), from turning into a non-performing asset.
They are exploring a range of options, including a possible merger with Tata Teleservices as well as an infusion of additional equity from Maxis Communications Bhd, which owns 74% of Aircel, according to three sources familiar with the developments.
The report said officials from some of the leading Indian banks met Maxis representatives in Malaysia to come up with a possible course of action.
"Aircel has not defaulted yet, but prospects are high as they are just about paying the interest on time. Even a month back, SBI officers had broached the topic of exploring synergies through a merger between the two," said an executive aware of the talks.
The discussions about a possible merger with Tata Teleservices is still preliminary, and may not materialise into a deal.
Tata officials have expressed scepticism about taking on Aircel's additional debt and see only limited possibility of generating profits as a combine.
DAYA MATERIALS BHD [] said its unit and the latter’s joint-venture partner have secured a 49.4 million euro (RM198 million) contract for the ventilation system for six new vessels of the Malaysian navy.
It said the award from Boustead Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd.
The contract includes design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system for the six vessels under the navy's littoral combat ship programme.
This award is expected to contribute towards the Daya Material group's earnings and net assets for the period of the project.
Glove manufacturers may be under the spot light again following more deaths caused by H7N9 virus found in China.
As of May 1, a total of 26 people have died of the H7N9 bird flu disease in mainland China, since the outbreak of the new avian flu strain in the country in early April, Bernama reported.
A total of 19 confirmed H7N9 bird flu cases were reported in mainland China last week from April 24 to May 1, making the number of infected patients to rise to 127.
Among the 19 cases, 16 were detected in east China provinces including Jiangsu (three), Zhejiang (four), Jiangxi (five), Fujian (three) and Shandong (one), according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission here Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Taiwan confirmed its first case related to H7N9 on Wednesday.
SURIA CAPITAL HOLDINGS BHD [] said its net profit fell to RM11.45 million in the first quarter ended March 31, 2013, from RM13.41 million in the same period a year ago.
It said its revenue declined to RM58.98 million from RM67.89 million previously due to lower contribution from all major business segments and consequently, this had impacted profit.
Its basic earnings per share slipped to 4.04 sen from 4.73 sen previously, the company said in a filing to Bursa Malaysia.
Suria Capital said its port operations would continue to be the main contributor to group earnings and it is optimistic of achieving satisfactory performance in the current financial year.