KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Friday (June 16) may include: Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, Protasco Bhd, Sunway Construction Group Bhd, Eco World Development Group Bhd, Eco World International Bhd, Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd and Tien Wah Press Holdings Bhd.

Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB), which is in the midst of undertaking a rights issue, is buying three parcels of land from Kuala Lumpur City Hall for RM335.5 million cash.

MRCB said its indirect subsidiary unit, Metro Spectacular Sdn Bhd, entered into a sale and purchase agreement with City Hall for the land acquisition. Metro Spectacular is a 51%-owned subsidiary of MRCB Land Sdn Bhd, which is a wholly-owned unit of MRCB.  

The three plots of land, situated along Jalan Putra approximately 4km from North KL, collectively measure approximately 40,720.5 square metres.

MRCB said the proposed land acquisition is in line with the group’s growth strategy to “increase its landbank with suitable land” in order to sustain its core business as a property development, engineering and construction company.

Protasco Bhd has secured a RM174.4 million infrastructure works contract from Central Spectrum (M) Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Kumpulan Hartanah Selangor Bhd.

The deal was sealed via its subsidiary KPS-HCM Sdn Bhd and is for the development of Phase 3C in Pulau Indah Industrial Park, Protasco said.

The group said the works are expected to be completed within 18 months from July 5, 2017 till Jan 5, 2019 and to contribute positively to its earnings for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2017.

Sunway Construction Group Bhd (SunCon) is confident of hitting its revenue target of RM2 billion for the current year, backed by its outstanding order book of RM4.6 billion.

Managing director Chung Soo Kiong said the group is on track to deliver higher revenue in the year ending Dec 31, 2017 (FY17), compared with RM1.79 billion in FY16.

"Based on our outstanding order book of RM4.6 billion, you can already guess that this year's turnover will be higher than last year. We hope to maintain our performance after the good first quarter results and we are working very hard to break the RM2 billion top line mark this year," he told reporters after the group's annual general meeting.

Chung also said that SunCon has been pre-qualified for work packages for the Light Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3) project, considering the group's participation in LRT2, with the group submitting bids for four packages so far.

He added that the group is also tendering for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, which had just completed the financial and technical evaluation.

Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) saw a 30% rise in Malaysia new property sales at RM1.71 billion for the seven months ended May 31, 2017 from RM1.32 billion a year earlier.

Its current financial year ends on Oct 31, 2017 (FY17).

EcoWorld said its Klang Valley sales in that period amounted to RM1.329 billion. The group also has property projects in Johor and Penang.

1HFY17 net profit grew to RM149.85 million from RM55.35 million a year ago, while revenue improved to RM1.26 billion from RM1.08 billion.

Separately, EcoWorld's 27%-owned associate Eco World International Bhd (EWI) posted a narrower net loss of RM24.82 million in 2QFY17, compared with RM60.82 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, 1HFY17 net loss narrowed to RM30.88 million from a net loss of RM118.63 million a year earlier.

Sales in 1HFY17 totalled to RM1.05 billion.

EWI said that as at May 31, total sales secured in FY17 amounted to RM1.13 billion, bringing its total cumulative sales from its existing four projects to RM6.73 billion.

The group revealed it sales target of RM2.5 billion for FY17.

EWI president and CEO Datuk Teow Leong Seng attributed the sales to its “well-balanced buyer profile and the fundamental attractiveness” of its various projects in the UK and Australia.

Berjaya Sports Toto Bhd’s (BToto) wholly-owned subsidiary, Sports Toto Malaysia Sdn Bhd, plans to issue bonds to raise up to RM800 million.  

The number forecast operator will undertake a medium term notes (MTN) programme of up to RM800 million.

The MTN programme has been accorded a preliminary AA- or “stable” rating by the Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) and will have tenure of up to 15 years, said BToto.

The group said the fresh capital raised will be used to refinance existing borrowings, defray issuance expenses, and to finance general corporate purposes.

Tien Wah Press Holdings Bhd’s Australian unit will be ceasing its remaining printing business, which it expects to impact its earnings for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2017 (FY17).

As a result of the one-off redundancy cost and impairment loss on plant and machineries to be incurred, there will be a reduction of RM15.75 million to consolidated earnings, and a decline of 11 sen earnings per share and net assets per share, said Tien Wah.

The cessation of the Australian unit Anzpac Services (Australia) Pty Ltd's printing business is part of the group's restructuring of its production footprint to improve strategic positioning and reduce operating costs in the longer term.

Anzpac, which is principally in the business of printing packaging and paperboard conversion, is not a major subsidiary of the group, it noted.

The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Max Ease International Ltd (MEIL), a Hong Kong-incorporated company that is 51%-owned by Tien Wah. The remaining 49% in MEIL is held by New Toyo International Holding Ltd, the ultimate holding company of Tien Wah Press.