KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 7): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus tomorrow may include the following: Dufu Technology Corp Bhd, Frontken Corp Bhd, Tien Wah Press Holdings Bhd, Hartalega Holdings Bhd, Uzma Bhd, Inta Bina Group Bhd, Metronic Global Bhd, Advancecon Holdings Bhd, Three-A Resources Bhd, KKB Engineering Bhd, Versatile Creative Bhd and MISC Bhd.

Dufu Technology Corp Bhd saw net profit for its second quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18) rise 72% to RM11.81 million from RM6.88 million a year ago, due to higher demand for Hard Disk Drives (HDD) components and strengthening of the US dollar.

Revenue for 2QFY18 rose 43% to RM58.69 million from RM40.97 million last year.

For the first half of FY18 (1HFY18), Dufu’s net profit rose 33% to RM17.57 million from RM13.19 million 1HFY17, on the back of revenue rising 28% to RM111.45 million from RM87.36 million previously.

Dufu expects sales to continue to remain favourable towards 2H18 as its major products are driven by the growth in high-capacity nearline HDDs as well as stabilisation of client storage demand.

Frontken Corp Bhd’s net profit more than doubled to RM12.08 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18), from RM5.82 million a year ago, while quarterly revenue grew 16% to RM81.78 million from RM70.53 million previously, mainly due to improved business performance of the group’s subsidiaries in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The strong quarterly performance pushed Frontken's net profit up 69.5% to RM18.39 million for the cumulative six months (1HFY18), from RM10.85 million a year ago, while revenue grew 11% to RM152.7 million, from RM137.59 million in 1HFY17.

Frontken anticipates overall business conditions this year to remain challenging amid uncertainties in the global trade environment, and is cautiously optimistic on delivering a satisfactory performance.

Tien Wah Press Holdings Bhd has returned to the black with a net profit of RM3.81 million in its second quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18), after four consecutive loss-making quarters, despite a 15% year-on-year decline in revenue to RM92 million.

In comparison, the group posted a net loss of RM14.45 million in the year-ago quarter, on revenue of RM108.47 million, impacted by the closure of its Australian printing operations, one-off redundancy expenses, and an asset impairment loss.

The on-year revenue decline was also due to the closure, besides the strengthening of the ringgit against the US dollar.

For the cumulative six months (1HFY18), Tien Wah recorded a net profit of RM1.39 million, compared with a net loss of RM10.32 million in 1HFY17, though revenue retreated 21% to RM173.54 million, from RM218.86 million.

The group expects operations to improve in 2H, on completion of its production footprint expansion in Vietnam and Indonesia, while it continues to develop its Dubai operation.

Hartalega Holdings Bhd's net profit rose 29.6% to RM124.87 million in its first quarter ended June 30, 2018 (1QFY19) from RM96.39 million a year ago, driven by higher sales achieved with favourable demand and additional production capacity.

Lower costs of nitrile, chemical and upkeep of plant and machinery also contributed to the higher profit.

Quarterly revenue also increased 17.5% to RM706.35 million from RM601.04 million a year ago in tandem with growing demand for nitrile gloves and continuous expansion in improving production capacity, with improved sales volume of 20.5%.

Hartalega’s Plant 6 is set to start construction to bring an annual installed capacity of 4.7 billion pieces, while Plant 7, also in the expansion pipeline, will have capacity of 2.6 billion pieces tailored to small orders and focus more on specialty products.

Uzma Bhd has secured a work order for the provision of well abandonment integrated services for Pulai-A until the completion of 22 firm wells, from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd.

The group was awarded the contract on July 2 and received approval from Petronas Carigali yesterday to make the announcement.

Uzma said the work order will contribute positively to earnings for its financial year ending June 30, 2019, until its expiry.

Inta Bina Group Bhd has bagged an RM62.64 million contract to construct 79 bungalows, two Tenaga Nasional Bhd substations and two guard houses in Beranang, Hulu Langat, Selangor for Eco Majestic Sdn Bhd.

Its wholly-owned subsidiary Inta Bina Sdn Bhd (IBSB) accepted the Letter of Award from DTLM Design Group Sdn Bhd for the proposed project, which will have a contract period of 20 months, commencing Aug 15.

With this contract, the group’s unbilled order book stood at RM826 million.

Advancecon Holdings Bhd has bagged a RM27.33 million contract from Sime Darby USJ Development Sdn Bhd to upgrade two rivers in Klang, Selangor.

The work scope of the one-year contract that will begin on Aug 20 included the upgrading of the rivers, namely Sungai Puloh and Sungai Parit Enam, using permanent concrete sheet pile with capping beam, as well as the creation of a diversion channel and temporary earth drains, a sediment fence and related works.

Three-A Resources Bhd's net profit fell 42% to RM5.29 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18), from RM9.17 million a year ago, as product margins were impacted by a surge in raw material prices.

Its quarterly revenue slid a marginal 1% to RM101.36 million from RM102.34 million in the year-ago quarter as a result of lower sales volume.

For the cumulative six months ended June 30 (1HFY18), its net profit fell 41% to RM11.52 million from RM19.5 million in 1HFY17, while revenue was down 1% to RM203.84 million from RM205.52 million.

Three-A expects raw material prices to remain volatile and the group's business environment to still be competitive moving forward.

KKB Engineering Bhd posted its fourth straight quarter of profit in the second financial quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18), with a net profit of RM1.76 million compared with a net loss of RM7.2 million a year ago, due to higher revenue recognition from both the engineering and manufacturing sectors, in particular from the civil construction, steel fabrication and steel pipe manufacturing divisions.

Quarterly revenue almost doubled to RM93.19 million from RM46.87 million in 2QFY17.

For the cumulative six months (1HFY18), KKB recorded a net profit of RM3.11 million compared with a net loss of RM8.68 million in 1HFY17, while revenue grew 75.7% to RM157.75 million from RM89.8 million a year ago.

The group said with its diversified activities and supported by a healthy financial position, it is well placed to maintain sustained performance and will continue to focus on its core businesses.

Versatile Creative Bhd's shares will be suspended from trading from 9am tomorrow, following its failure to submit its annual report on time, for its financial year ended March 31, 2018 (FY18).

The suspension will only be uplifted upon issuance of the annual report, together with the FY18 audited financial statements, unless otherwise determined by Bursa Securities.

Versatile Creative said it was unable to release the annual report on time, as the company has yet to finalise its ongoing forensic audit.

MISC Bhd saw its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018 (2QFY18) decline 42.28% y-o-y to RM321.2 million from RM556.5 million on lower earnings across all its divisions.

Quarterly revenue was down 6.98% to RM2.14 billion from RM2.3 billion a year ago as contributions fell from its LNG, petroleum, offshore and heavy engineering divisions.

For the six months ended June 30, 2018 (1HFY18), the group's net profit declined 48.75% to RM631.8 million from RM1.23 billion previously, while revenue decreased 21.27% to RM4.16 billion from RM5.29 billion in 1HFY17.

MISC, whoch announced a lower second tax exempt interim dividend of seven sen per share today, said it expects its heavy engineering segment performance to remain under pressure in 2018.