This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on November 9 - 15, 2015.

Some RM461.34 million shares valued at RM597.61 million were traded off market in the week of Oct 28 to Nov 3 in blocks of at least 450,000 shares.

Notable trades included Bioalpha Holdings Bhd, which saw 55.44 million shares or 12% equity interest change hands in direct and block trades at     25 sen to 31 sen. Part of the off-market transaction can be traced back to Bioalpha founder and CEO Hon Tian Kok, who disposed of 25 million shares at 29 sen and 30 sen apiece between  Oct 28 and Nov 2.

On Oct 29, Hon acquired 28.05 million shares from Perbadanan Nasional Bhd (PNS) at 25 sen apiece. That reduced PNS’ shareholding in Bioalpha to 16.69% while Hon’s stake totalled 18.67%.

Bioalpha, which manufactures and sells semi-finished and finished health supplement products, saw net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015 (2QFY2015) shrink to RM396,000 from RM1.8 million a year ago, despite revenue rising marginally to RM8.25 million from RM8.13 million.

The net profit decline can be attributed to one-off listing expenses of RM2.18 million while the rise in revenue came from exporting the company’s herbal products to China. Bioalpha has commenced farming of its herbal plants and is expecting the first harvest by end-2015.

Sycal Ventures Bhd (fundamental: 1.50; valuation: 2.10) saw 26.68 million shares, representing 8.33% of its total outstanding shares, change hands in a direct trade at 25 sen apiece on Nov 2. This transaction was done at a 38.3% discount to the market price of  40.5 sen. At the time of writing, the parties involved in the transaction were unknown.   

Sycal, a construction and property developer, saw the emergence of Fantastic Hallmark Sdn Bhd on Oct 2 as a new substantial shareholder with a 5.31% stake. That increased to 16.7% as at Oct 19. Sycal’s net profit for 2QFY2015 declined 25.6% from a year ago to RM3.52 million as revenue fell to RM71.73 million from RM89.99 million.

About 14.96 million TIME dotCom Bhd (fundamental: 3; valuation: 2.40) shares changed hands in a direct trade at RM6.20 apiece on Nov 2. The parties involved in the off-market transaction were unknown at the time of writing.

In October, TIME dotCom’s share price rose to a high of RM7 apiece after the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) re-emerged as a substantial shareholder in the telecommunications group. Since then, the EPF has been buying and selling the shares on the open market, according to filings with Bursa Malaysia. As at Oct 30, the EPF had a 5.54% stake.  

Over at PUC Founder (MSC) Bhd (fundamental: 1.85 ; valuation: 1.10), 14.46 million shares or 1.36% equity interest changed hands off market in direct and block trades during the week. The buyers and sellers had not been disclosed at press time.

The company has three business segments: technology, media and telecommunications; e-payment services; and renewable energy. BIMB Securities Research, which initiated coverage on the company last week, has a “buy” rating and a target price of 18 sen.

“We envisage the renewable energy business to offer ample opportunities for PUC to grow, and expect strong double-digit growth in earnings over the next three years. We value PUC at 18 sen via our SOP [sum-of-parts] methodology and initiate coverage with a ‘buy’ recommendation,” it says.

PUC’s net profit for 2QFY2015 slipped to RM447,000, some 59.4% lower than a year ago. This came as revenue dropped 38.1% to RM7.24 million. The top-line decrease was attributable to lower revenue from the biometric division while the lower net profit was because of a provision for impairment on trade receivables during the period.

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. Visit www.theedgemarkets.com for more details on a company’s financial dashboard.

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