KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks that may be in focus next Tuesday (Feb 2) include: Supermax Corp Bhd, Top Glove Corp Bhd, Mestron Holdings Bhd, Iris Corp Bhd, Homeritz Corp Bhd, Uchi Technologies Bhd, KTG Bhd and Jerasia Capital Bhd.
Supermax Corp Bhd reported a new record net profit of RM1.06 billion for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2020, up 34% from RM789.52 million in the preceding quarter.
Quarterly revenue surged to RM2 billion from RM1.35 billion in the first quarter. This implies a net profit of nearly 50%.
The anticipated big leap in earnings was mainly fuelled by higher average selling prices (ASPs), as demand for gloves continued to soar worldwide against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Supermax declared an interim dividend of 3.8 sen per share, to be paid on Feb 26.
On a year-to-year basis, the second quarter net profit jumped by a whopping 3,412% from RM30.17 million a year ago, with revenue up by more than four times from RM385.5 million.
Top Glove Corp Bhd has pledged to vaccinate all of its staff including foreign workers, once the Covid-19 vaccine is made available.
Executive chairman Tan Sri Dr Lim Wee Chai said this is to ensure uninterrupted production for the long run, besides making sure of good physical and mental health of its employees, in order to achieve good financial health of the company.
The glove maker has over 21,000 employees at 47 factories and 750 production lines as at December 2020.
Steel pole maker Mestron Holdings Bhd has inked a heads of agreement (HoA) with China-based Zhongyu Yexing (Chengdu) Industrial Co Ltd to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine in Malaysia.
Mestron said it expects to invest up to RM20 million for this business venture, which will be funded via internally-generated funds, bank loans and proceeds from private placement.
Zhongyu is part of the Sino Pharma Group of Companies, and is one of the authorised distributors for Sinopharm’s China National Biotech Group Covid-19 vaccine.
Mestron said once all necessary approvals have been obtained, Zhongyu will supply an estimated three million doses to Mestron in stages.
Iris Corp Bhd said it has secured an immigration system contract from the government worth RM1.16 billion.
Its wholly-owned subsidiary Iris Information Technology Systems Sdn Bhd received a letter of award from the Ministry of Home Affairs to develop and deliver the immigration system.
The contract will be for a period of 54 months until Aug 31, 2025.
Furniture maker Homeritz Corp Bhd's net profit for the first quarter ended Nov 30, 2020 fell 9.6% to RM7.3 million, from RM8.08 million a year ago, weighed down by the weakening US dollar, as well as rising raw materials and labour costs.
This was despite revenue increasing 26.7% to RM52.54 million from RM41.47 million, underpinned by higher sales.
Homeritz said the outlook for 2021 remains challenging and uncertain, as the full impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has not been ascertained.
Uchi Technologies Bhd said 15 employees of its subsidiary Uchi Optoelectronic (M) Sdn Bhd (UOM) have tested positive for Covid-19.
The Penang-based group said UOM started a mass screening process for its employees, after the acknowledgement of a confirmed Covid-19 case from a contractor on Jan 25.
KTG Bhd (formerly known as DWL Resources Bhd) has proposed a private placement of up to 20% of its shares to raise as much as RM29.5 million to finance the moneylending and glove manufacturing businesses that it recently ventured into.
Up to 134.09 million shares will be placed out to investors to be identified later at an issue price to be fixed later, the loss-making ceramics and pottery products manufacturer said.
The group branched out into moneylending via its wholly-owned subsidiary MMAG Capital Sdn Bhd last year.
Apparel manufacturer and fashion retailer Jerasia Capital Bhd plans to raise up to RM261.3 million by way of a rights issue with free warrants, as part of its efforts to venture into glove manufacturing.
Jerasia, which operates Mango retail outlets in Malaysia, said it plans to install up to 10 dipping lines in stages over the course of 12 months to manufacture latex and nitrile gloves. These 10 lines are expected to yield a production capacity of 8.4 million pieces of gloves per day.
The estimated capital expenditure required to construct and commission all 10 glove-dipping lines, as well as its related facilities, is RM146.0 million, the group said.