Business & Markets 2014
Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com
Thursday, 29 May 2014 18:51
KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): Based on news flow and corporate results as at 6.30 pm today, the companies that may grab attention tomorrow include the following:
IHH Healthcare Bhd’s net profit rose 25% to RM159.1 million for its first quarter ended March 31, 2014, up from RM127.3 million in the previous same quarter.
Revenue rose 8% to RM1.76 billion in 1QFY14 from RM1.62 billion in 1QFY13.
“The revenue increase in 1QFY14 was driven by higher inpatient admissions and revenue intensity across the group’s operations and the opening of Acibadem Atakent Hospital in January 2014,” said IHH.
For the balance of the financial year, the group is confident of continuing earnings growth, with its strong balance sheet and cash flows supporting its expansion plans.
Sime Darby Bhd's net profit rose 23% to RM852.5 million in the third quarter ended March 31, 2014 from RM691.2 million a year earlier due to lower operating expenses and taxes.
The conglomerate said revenue fell to RM10.3 billion from RM10.84 billion.
Cumulative nine-month net profit fell to RM2.16 billion from RM2.39 billion a year earlier. Revenue was lower at RM31.93 billion versus RM33.84 billion.
Sime Darby said profit had fallen on weaker performance at its plantation, industrial, automotive, property, and energy and utility divisions.
Looking ahead, Sime Darby said its businesses would be affected by weak commodity prices and a volatile foreign exchange landscape.
Malayan Banking Bhd’s (Maybank) net profit rose 6% to RM1.60 billion for its first quarter ended March 31, 2014 from RM1.51 billion in the preceding year’s same quarter.
Revenue for the quarter climbed 3% year-on-year to RM8.36 billion from RM8.12 billion in the year before.
Going forward, Datuk Abdul Faris Alias, group president and CEO of Maybank expects stronger earnings in FY14 amid a challenging business environment.
“With our new regional organisation structure now firmly in place, we expect to see stronger momentum in our earnings for the rest of 2014.”
DRB-Hicom Bhd’s net profit soared 137% to RM167.0 million in its fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014, from RM70.6 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.
Revenue for the quarter rose 24% year-on-year to RM4.17 billion from RM3.36 billion in the year before.
The group proposed a final single-tier dividend of 4.5 sen per share, with the entitlement date to be determined later.
For the full financial year, the group’s net profit was lower at RM456.8 million compared to RM575.3 million in the previous year, while revenue rose to RM14.20 billion from RM13.13 billion.
Sunway Bhd said net profit for the first financial quarter ended March 31, 2014, rose 14.8% to RM103.99 million from RM90.56 million in similar quarter a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter was positively flat at RM1.03 billion, versus RM1.02 billion a year ago.
The property group said improved performance across most of its business segments and lower interest costs helped the bottom line.
On prospects, the company expects the global economy to be moderately better than last year but warned of downside risks in the group if China authorities do not handle its soft landing well.
BIMB Holdings Bhd said net profit for the first financial quarter ended March 31, 2014, rose 66.5% to RM123.46 million from RM74.14 million in same quarter a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter rose to RM726.89 million from RM655.28 million a year ago.
The financial group attributed the higher net profit to incremental profit contribution from its 49% acquisition in Bank Islam Malaysia last year.
Mah Sing Group Bhd said net profit for the first financial quarter ended March 31, 2014 rose 20.9% to RM84 million from RM69 million a year ago.
Revenue for the quarter rose 51.8% to RM642.2 million from RM423.1 million a year ago.
The group currently has a total gross development value (GDV) pipeline of RM30.72 billion which provides it earnings visibility of seven to eight years.
Menang Corporation Bhd reported net profit of RM11.4 million for its third quarter ended March 31, 2014, soaring 183% from RM4.0 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.
Revenue for the quarter rose 48% to RM74.5 million from RM50.3 million in the year before.
For the nine months to March 2014, net profit stood at RM21.5 million compared to RM14.1 million, while cumulative revenue improved to RM203.9 million from RM157.3 million.
Kwantas Corporation Bhd posted net profit of RM9.1 million for its third quarter ended March 31, 2014, falling 33% from RM13.6 million in the preceding year’s same quarter.
Revenue declined 3% year-on-year to RM437.9 million, from RM450.2 million in the previous year.
For the nine months to the third quarter, net profit rose to RM45.8 million from RM35.7 million in the previous year’s corresponding period, while cumulative revenue fell to RM1.24 billion from RM1.37 billion.
Delloyd Ventures Bhd said net profit for the fourth financial quarter ended March 31, 2014 rose 98.5% to RM13.05 million from RM6.57 million in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter rose 22% to RM104.29 million from RM 85.45 million a year ago.
Net profit for the full year fell to RM27.34 million from RM32.93 million a year ago. Cumulative revenue for the full year slid in tandem to RM411.58 million from RM424.67 million a year ago.
The company announced a dividend of 5 sen per share.
Three-A Resources Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter to March 2014 rose 32% to RM3.60 million, from RM2.73 million in similar quarter a year ago.
Revenue rose 3.8% year-on-year to RM76.64 million from RM73.83 million.
The company said the increase in revenue compared to a year ago was due to higher demand for its products while profit rose on higher turnover, better product margins and lower finance cost.
Hock Seng Lee Berhad (HSL) announced that it has bagged a water-supply job worth RM51.9 million for the construction of a water supply works project at Samalaju, Bintulu, Sarawak.
The contract works are due for completion by the 3QFY15.
“The contract is expected to contribute positively to the earnings and net assets of HSL group for the financial years ending 2014 to 2015.”