KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): AllianceDBS Research has rated Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd a “Buy’ with a target price of RM1.45 and said the company is the best Malaysian-listed proxy to rising oil prices.

In an oil and gas industry focus today, the research house said Hibiscus’ completion of the acquisition of Anasuria Cluster in March 2016 had led a turnaround from a core net loss of RM145 million in FY16 (FYE June) to a core net profit of RM29 million in FY17.

It said the impending completion of the acquisition of North Sabah Enhanced Oil Recovery PSC, estimated by end 1QCY18, will more than double its earnings in FY19.

“Recent enhancement works on Anasuria Cluster and oil price rebound are further icings on the cake, which gives strong support to our core EPS (fully diluted) CAGR of 29% from FY17-20F,” the research house said.

At noon break, Hibiscus fell 4.46% or 5 sen to RM1.07 with 18.64 million shares traded, in line with the bearish broader market.