Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 25): Based on corporate news flow and announcements today, stocks in focus tomorrow (Thursday Feb 26) could include: KNM Group Bhd, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd, Icon Offshore Bhd, Media Prima Bhd, Petra Energy Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB), Integrax Bhd and Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd.

KNM Group Bhd saw its net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014 (FY14) doubled to RM45.69 million or 2.94 sen per share, from RM23.45 or 1.6 sen per share a year earlier, due to improved margins.

Revenue however, declined 12.3% to RM1.87 billion, compared to RM1.99 billion a year ago.

In the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14), KNM (fundamental: 0.85; valuation: 1.2) saw its net profit fall 47.22% to RM3.97 million or 0.26 sen per share, from RM7.51 million or 0.51 sen per share in 4QFY13.

Revenue for the quarter was down 21.54% to RM451.24 million, from RM575.13 million in 4QFY13.

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has received a letter of award (LoA) from the government for the implementation of both the High Speed Broadband Phase 2 (HSBB 2) and the Sub-Urban Broadband (SUBB) projects.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, TM (fundamental: 1.1; valuation: 0.9) said the collaboration with the government would see it deploy the access and domestic core networks to deliver an end-to-end HSBB infrasructure for both projects.

Both HSBB 2 and SUBB, with investment costs of RM1.8 billion and RM1.6 billion respectively, are for a period of 10 years, it said.

Utusan Melayu (Malaysia) Bhd saw its net loss multiply to RM44.32 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, from RM4.66 million in the year before, bringing its loss per share (LPS) to 40.03 sen from 4.20 sen, due to lower revenue and higher impairment charges on trade and other receivables.

Its revenue for the quarter was RM76.64 million, down 15% from RM89.82 million in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

For the financial year ended Dec 31, 2014, Utusan’s (fundamental: 0.2; valuation: 1.2) net loss widened to RM80.9 million, from RM16.21 million in the year before; while revenue fell 15% to RM291.32 million, from RM342.43 million.

Its LPS for the year was higher at 73.05 sen, compared to 14.64 sen.

Media Prima Bhd (fundamental: 1.8; valuation: 1.2) slipped into the red in its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 (4QFY14), with a net loss of RM29.49 million, from a profit of RM63.44 million in the previous corresponding quarter, due to expenses incurred for its mutual separation scheme (MSS).

Excluding the one-off MSS effect, the group’s net profit declined by 13% from 4QFY13, Media Prima told Bursa today. Revenue for the quarter also came in lower at RM384.7 million, down 14.8% from RM451.56 million previously.

The group announced a final single-tier dividend of 5 sen per share for the quarter, bringing the total dividend for FY14 to 11 sen per share, which is 21.4% lower than the 14 sen per share in FY13.

Its full FY14 net profit was RM75.53 million, down 64.7% from RM214.02 million in FY13; revenue also slipped 12.5% to RM1.51 billion, from RM1.72 billion previously.

The company attributed the weaker full year earnings to market uncertainties, weak consumer sentiments, and the tragic airlines incidents that caused advertisers to take a more cautions stance on advertisement placement.

Offshore support vessel (OSV) provider Icon Offshore Bhd has clinched six out of the eight packages being offered by Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, under the latter's umbrella contract for the provision of spot charter of marine vessels.

In a press statement, Icon Offshore (fundamental score: 0.95; valuation score: 0.90) said its wholly-owned subsidiary Icon Offshore Group Sdn Bhd had recently received a Letter of Award (LoA) for the said packages, which included ones for the provision of marine vessels in the categories of anchor handling tug/supply, vessel, straight supply vessel, platform supply vessel, utility vessel, workboat and work barge.

Petra Energy Bhd has returned to black in its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, with a net profit of RM5.32 million, compared to the previous corresponding quarter’s loss of RM80,000. Revenue too, was up by 40.94% year-on-year to RM221.63 million.

The oil and gas services provider also doubled its dividend payout in the quarter under review, to two sen a share.

For the whole of FY14, net profit was up 163% year-on-year to RM33.49 million or 10.41 sen a share. This compared with FY13’s earnings of RM12.74 million or 4.2 sen per share.

Petra (fundamental: 0.8; valuation: 1.2) registered revenue of RM638.63 million in FY14, which was 30.16% higher than the previous year’s RM490.65 million.

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has upped the offer price by 50 sen to RM3.25 for shares it does not own in port operator, Integrax Bhd, after Perak Corp Bhd (fundamental: 1.9; valuation: 1.2) rejected the RM2.75 offer price on Monday.

With this new offer price, TNB (fundamental: 1.3; valuation: 1.8) which holds 22.12% of Integrax (fundamental: 1.65; valuation: 0.6), will now have to fork out RM761.38 million to take over Integrax, which is an additional RM117.14 million, from RM644.24 million previously.

Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd (fundamental: 0.8; valuation: 1.8) saw its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, plunged 87.2% to RM8.67 million or 1.33 sen share, while revenue dipped 6.7% to RM1.26 billion, as fierce promotional campaigns in the automotive sector hit profit margins.

Its 2014 full year net profit also dropped 57.82% to RM105.85 million, as revenue fell 8.4% to RM4.76 billion.

In its filing to Bursa Malaysia, the Nissan vehicles distributor said due to the highly competitive environment in the local automotive industry, it had stepped up promotional campaigns to sustain market share and reduce its inventory, at the expense of profit margins.

The group noted the strong promotional campaigns had reduced its inventory to RM1.52 billion as at Dec 31, 2014, from RM1.73 billion as at Dec 31, 2013.

Tan Chong noted its prospects remain challenging, as the weakening ringgit has added pressure on the imported costs of materials required in the automotive industry.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)

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