Thursday 28 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 20): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies in focus on Wednesday (Aug 21) may include: Genting Malaysia Bhd, Heineken Malaysia Bhd, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, AWC Bhd, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK), Pos Malaysia Bhd, Gamuda Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd, Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd and MBM Resources Bhd.
 
Genting Malaysia Bhd is proceeding with its related party transaction (RPT) deal involving the acquisition of Empire Resorts Inc and a subsequent delisting of the company via a planned merger.

Its indirect wholly-owned Genting (USA) Ltd (GenUSA) and its chairman Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay’s Kien Huat III (KH) have received 49% and 51% stakes in Hercules Topco LLC respectively, to undertake US-based casino operator Empire's planned delisting.

Hercules Topco had inked an agreement plan with Hercules Merger Subsidiary Inc and Empire to effect the merger, which will see Hercules Topco acquiring Empire's remaining shares from minority shareholders at US$9.74 each.

GenUSA and KH's portion of the merger consideration to be injected into the JVCo are approximately US$28.5 million (or RM119.0 million) and US$29.7 million (or RM124.1 million) respectively. 

Heineken Malaysia Bhd's net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19) grew 19.7% on year to RM65.7 million from RM54.9 million, while revenue expanded 21.6% to RM512.58 million from RM421.57 million, thanks to higher beer sales.

The brewery declared an interim dividend of 42 sen per share, compared with 40 sen per share in the previous year, payable on Oct 25.

Net profit grew 14.3% to RM118.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 (6MFY19) from RM103.66 million a year ago, as revenue went up 21.32% to RM1.04 billion from RM855.38 million. 

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd reported a 36% drop in net profit in its second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19) to RM102.89 million, from RM160.6 million a year ago, as revenue fell 12.5% to RM2.13 billion from RM2.44 billion.

Nevertheless, Press Metal's board of directors approved a second interim single tier dividend of 1.25 sen per share, payable on Sept 24.

Cumulative net profit for the first half of the year (1HFY19) stood at RM217.99 million, down 30% from the RM311.08 million a year ago, while revenue contracted 5.7% to RM4.3 billion, from RM4.56 billion in 1HFY18. 

AWC Bhd’s wholly-owned unit Ambang Wira Sdn Bhd has bagged a RM113 million job from the Ministry of Health, to provide hospital support services for the National Cancer Institute in Putrajaya. The three-year contract that will start on Sept 1 is expected to contribute positively to its earnings over the duration of the contract. 

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd (KLK) has warned of reduced profit for its financial year ending Sept 30, 2019 (FY19), as the group reports a 65% slump in its third quarter (3Q) net profit to RM48.62 million, from RM139.87 million in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue fell 14.5% to RM3.7 billion from RM4.33 billion.

The weaker 3QFY19 results came after its plantation division suffered a substantial 67.9% year-on-year drop in profit due to lower palm products prices realised, besides a corporate loss of RM123.1 million, which included a provision of RM145.3 million for impairment of an estate located in Sinoe County, Liberia.

Cumulative net profit slid 8.1% to RM442.49 million from RM481.38 million in the same period a year ago, as revenue fell 17.3% to RM11.73 billion from RM14.19 billion. 

Similarly, KLK’s parent Batu Kawan Holdings is expecting a weaker FY19, after its net profit was slashed by more than half to RM50.83 million 3QFY19, from RM106.67 million a year ago, following the plantation segment’s drag. Revenue was down by 14.5% to RM3.82 billion from RM4.47 billion.

For the cumulative nine months ended June 30, 2019 (9MFY19), the group’s net profit was down 7.5% to RM266.8 million, versus RM288.43 million a year ago, while revenue declined 17.13% to RM12.12 billion, from RM14.63 billion. 

Pos Malaysia Bhd posted a net loss of RM15.1 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019, compared with a net profit of RM4.98 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago. This marks its fourth consecutive quarterly loss. Revenue slipped 3% to RM572.95 million, from RM590.46 million before.

Pos Malaysia attributed the lower earnings to its weak postal services results, hit by the decline in traditional mail volume, due to electronic substitution. 

Gamuda Bhd announced that a suit filed by Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has been withdrawn, following the full payment of settlement sum totalling RM91.1 million. The settlement sum constitutes full and final settlement of the dispute between Gamuda’s 80%-owned unit Gamuda Water Sdn Bhd and TNB, the company said.

Gamuda noted that the TNB suit will not have any significant financial and operational impact on the group for the financial year ending July 31, 2020 (FY20), as the outstanding electricity bills have been fully provided as and when they were incurred. 

Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd's net profit for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2019 (4QFY19) plunged 75% to RM24.72 million, from RM98.75 million a year earlier, despite recording a 28.4% higher revenue at RM237.07 million from RM184.63 million previously.

The group, however, ended its financial year with a full-year net profit of RM230.01 million, up 13% compared with RM203.71 million in the previous year. Full-year revenue more than doubled to RM988.30 million, from RM394.34 million previously.

Hibiscus attributed the overall improvement to its North Sabah asset, as this was the first full year that the Malaysian asset was under the group's operatorship.

Both its North Sabah and the Anasuria Cluster are progressing through a capital expenditure programme to drill a total of nine wells in the 2019 calendar year — two wells in the UK and a further seven in Malaysia. 

Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd will continue its operations by publishing two of its publications Utusan Malaysia and Kosmo!, despite financial challenges faced, its group chief executive officer Datuk Abd Aziz Sheikh Fadzir said.

However, trading of the Practice Note 17 (PN17) company's shares on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia will be suspended from Aug 28 onward. If Utusan submits an appeal against the delisting to Bursa Securities on or before Aug 27, the removal of the company's securities from Bursa on Aug 30 shall be deferred, pending the decision on the company's appeal. 

MBM Resources Bhd’s net profit more than doubled to RM74.04 million in the second quarter ended June 30, 2019 (2QFY19), from RM34.55 million a year ago, mainly lifted by a one-off RM24.8 million gain on disposals. Revenue was up 15.42% to RM558.05 million, from RM483.48 million. 

MBM Resources declared a first interim dividend of six sen per share, payable on Sept 19.

For the cumulative first half of the year (1HFY19), the group saw its net profit grow 83.62% to RM123.69 million, from RM67. 36 million in the same period last year. Revenue rose 15.15% to RM1.08 billion, from RM935.41 million.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share