KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 27): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Friday (Feb 28) may include: AMMB Holdings Bhd, AirAsia Group Bhd, AirAsia X Bhd, BIMB Holdings Bhd, Genting Bhd, Genting (M) Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, MyEG Services Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd and UMW Holdings Bhd.

AMMB Holdings Bhd’s earnings rose 9.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM382.15 million in the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2019 (3QFY19) on higher income from interest bearing assets. Quarterly revenue grew 3% to RM2.37 billion from RM2.3 billion.

For the nine-month period, AMMB’s net profit increased 4.5% y-o-y to RM1.09 billion from RM1.05 billion as revenue climbed 4.8% to RM7.11 billion from RM6.79 billion.

AirAsia Group Bhd fell into the red with a net loss of RM303.72 million in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2019 (FY19), from a net profit of RM1.97 billion in FY18, mainly due to the absence of RM1.1 billion gains recorded in FY18. Revenue for the year, however, was up 17% to RM12.45 billion from RM10.64 billion in the previous year.

For 4QFY19, AirAsia narrowed its net loss to RM384.48 million from RM394.97 million a year ago as revenue grew 19% to RM3.36 billion from RM2.82 billion, driven by an 11% capacity addition and a 9% increase in revenue per available seat kilometre.

AirAsia X Bhd reported a widening of its fourth quarter net loss by 8.8% y-o-y to RM95.81 million from RM88.05 million on higher depreciation and finance costs with the adoption of MFRS 16 Lease. This was despite quarterly revenue rising 3.6% y-o-y to RM1.2 billion.

Higher depreciation and finance costs also caused the airline's net loss for FY19 to widen by 62.4% y-o-y to RM489.48 million from RM301.48 million while revenue fell 3.9% to RM4.39 billion from RM4.57 billion.

BIMB Holdings Bhd's 4QFY19 net profit rose 12.07% y-o-y to RM180.86 million, on the back of stronger performance in its Islamic banking and takaful businesses. Quarterly revenue grew 9.42% to RM1.35 billion from RM1.224 billion.

For the full FY19, BIMB’s net profit rose 15.37% y-o-y to RM786.92 million from RM682.06 million on the back of a 19.15% increase in revenue to RM5.38 billion from RM4.52 billion.

Genting Bhd’s net profit in 4QFY19 fell 19.28% y-o-y to RM528.82 million from RM655.16 million, dragged by taxation and lower gross profit, and as its joint ventures and associates swung to losses. Revenue fell 1.75% y-o-y to RM5.3 billion.

For the entire FY19, Genting’s net profit jumped 45.15% to just under RM2 billion from RM1.37 billion in FY18, when there was a massive RM1.8 billion impairment loss, coupled with the gain on disposal of UK assets. Full-year revenue grew 3.66% y-o-y to RM21.62 billion.

Genting Malaysia Bhd’s net profit for 4QFY19 fell to RM299.74 million from RM720.14 million a year earlier, when there was a huge tax credit of nearly RM304 million. Also dragging net profit was higher finance costs and share of losses in an associate.

This was recorded on lower quarterly revenue of RM2.44 billion, which was down 2.59% y-o-y on weaker Malaysian contribution. The group declared a special dividend of nine sen per share, bringing full FY19 dividend to 20 sen — up from 19 sen in FY18.

For the full-FY19, Genting Malaysia’s net profit stood at RM1.4 billion, from losses of RM19.59 million in FY18, where there were impairments worth RM2 billion. Revenue grew 4.83% y-o-y to RM10.41 billion amid higher contribution from all fronts, save for its operations in the UK and Egypt.

Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank)'s 4QFY19 earnings grew 5.1% y-o-y to RM2.45 billion on the back of its community financial services, Islamic banking, and insurance and takaful segments' robust performance. Quarterly revenue rose to RM12.98 billion from RM12.23 billion previously.

The bank proposed a final single-tier cash dividend of 39 sen per share, translating to RM7.19 billion. This brings full-year dividend to 64 sen per share.

For the full FY19, Maybank’s net profit increased to RM8.19 billion from RM8.11 billion in the year-ago period, on the back of higher revenue of RM52.84 billion versus RM47.32 billion.

Separately, the bank said it expects to see net interest margin (NIM) compression of five basis points (bps) this year, amid external developments such as the COVID-19 outbreak, continued trade dispute between US and China as well as geopolitical tensions.

For the full FY19, Maybank's NIM fell 6 bps to 2.27% from 2.33% in FY18, as group gross loans expanded by 1.2% while group deposits expanded 1.6%.

MyEG Services Bhd turned in a net profit of RM69.28 million for the three-month period ended Dec 31, 2019 on revenue of RM119.69 million.

This latest quarterly results, together with four previous quarters, provide MyEG with a cumulative net profit of RM304.59 million for its 15-month FY19, on revenue of RM595.94 million.

PPB Group Bhd’s net profit rose 58.1% y-o-y to RM349.95 million 4QFY19 on higher contribution from its associate Wilmar International Ltd. Revenue grew 1.4% to RM1.18 billion from RM1.16 billion.

The group proposed a final dividend of 23 sen per share for FY19, payable on June 2. This brings total dividends for the year to 31 sen per share.

For the full year FY19, PPB’s net profit grew 7.2% to RM1.15 billion versus RM1.08 billion in the previous year while revenue rose 3.4% to RM4.68 billion from RM4.53 billion in FY18.

RHB Bank Bhd's net profit for 4QFY19 grew 9.8% y-o-y to RM621 million, due to higher non-fund based income and net fund based income, and lower expected credit losses. Revenue for the quarter increased to RM3.42 billion from RM3.31 billion previously.

RHB proposed a final dividend of 18.5 sen per share, amounting to RM741.85 million.

For the full FY19, RHB’s net profit rose 7.4% to RM2.48 billion from RM2.31 billion in the year-ago period, on the back of higher revenue of RM13.53 billion versus RM12.69 billion.

UMW Holdings Bhd's 4QFY19 earnings jumped 11 times to RM200.46 million from RM17.93 million a year ago, mainly due to a one-off gain for land disposals of RM188.1 million. Quarterly revenue grew 16% y-o-y to RM3.12 billion, on higher sales in the automotive and manufacturing and engineering businesses.

The group announced a final dividend of two sen per share or RM23.4 million in total, payable on March 31, bringing its full FY19 payout to six sen per share, lower than the 7.5 sen it announced for FY18.

For the full FY19, the group recorded a 32% increase in net profit to RM454.44 million from RM344.52 million, as revenue came in 4% higher at RM11.74 billion from RM11.3 billion.