KUALA LUMPUR (March 28): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, stocks in focus on Wednesday (March 29) may include: Perak Transit Bhd, Muar Ban Lee Group Bhd, United Malacca Bhd, Cypark Resources Bhd, Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd, Kelington Group Bhd, UEM Edgenta Bhd, Econpile Holdings Bhd, Handal Resources Bhd and Anzo Holdings Bhd.
Perak Transit Bhd is purchasing two plots of land near Universiti Teknologi Petronas in Tronoh, Perak to develop into an integrated bus terminal complex.
Perak Transit said its 99.89%-owned subsidiary, The Combined Bus Services Sdn Bhd, is acquiring the land from Pasti Kenari Sdn Bhd for RM7.97 million. The purchase consideration will be financed through internal funds.
According to Perak Transit, the proposed acquisition is in line with its overall strategy to develop integrated public transportation terminals in various parts of Perak.
Muar Ban Lee Group Bhd plans to dispose of its oil palm arm Sokor Gemilang Ladang Sdn Bhd to furniture maker Everhome International (M) Sdn Bhd (EIM) for RM35.1 million.
The group said its wholly-owned subsidiary MBL Plantation Sdn Bhd has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with EIM to outline the basic principles for the disposal. A definitive agreement is expected to be executed within six months, it said.
Muar Ban Lee said the sale consideration took into account the proposed offer price based on the land use right binding in the plantation land development agreement between Sokor Gemilang and Perbadanan Pembangunan Ladang Rakyat Negeri Kelantan in Kuala Krai, Kelantan.
Sokor Gemilang has the right to develop 789ha of land into an oil palm or rubber plantation.
Muar Ban Lee said proceeds from the disposal would be used for working capital, to decrease its borrowings and for future expansion of its core business.
United Malacca Bhd’s net profit for the third financial quarter ended Jan 31, 2017 (3QFY17) more than doubled to RM33.67 million or 16.09 sen per share from RM14.8 million or 7.07 sen per share a year ago, mainly due to higher average prices of crude palm oil (CPO) and palm kernel, as well as higher fresh fruit bunches (FFB) production.
Revenue climbed 51.4% to RM75.77 million from RM50.04 million in 3QFY16.
The group’s plantation operations in Malaysia generated profit of RM23.9 million in 3QFY17, 214% higher from RM7.61 million in 3QFY16 on higher average prices of CPO and palm kernel, as well as an increase in FFB production by 14% or 9,343 tonnes.
The group’s Indonesia plantation, meanwhile, posted RM2.56 million in profit for the quarter mainly due to higher FFB production as well as higher FFB selling price.
For the first nine months of FY17, United Malacca reported a rise of 41.2% in net profit to RM55.55 million or 26.55 sen per share from RM39.34 million or 18.84 sen per share a year ago, while revenue rose 29.5% to RM204.43 million from RM157.84 million.
Renewable energy firm Cypark Resources Bhd has won three contracts worth RM28.48 million from the Department of National Solid Waste Management.
Cypark said it received a five-year contract to operate a leachate treatment plant in Pajam and Bukit Palong — both in Negeri Sembilan — for RM12.15 million and RM11.37 million respectively.
The two contracts will commence from April 3 this year and will end on April 2, 2022.
The third contract, said Cypark, is for operating a leachate treatment plant in Kuantan, Pahang, for two years, which will commence from April 3 this year till April 2, 2019. The contract is valued at RM4.95 million.
Higher finance costs dragged down Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd's earnings in the fourth financial quarter ended Jan 31, 2017 (4QFY17).
Net profit slipped 28.8% to RM145.08 million or 2.79 sen per share from RM203.77 million or 3.92 sen per share in 4QFY16.
Astro said higher net finance cost amounting to RM62.7 million was due to higher unrealised foreign exchange (forex) loss arising from unhedged finance lease liabilities of RM47.7 million and unhedged vendor financing of RM34.1 million. This was offset by a realised forex gain from vendor financing of RM16.2 million.
Revenue for 4QFY17 dipped by a marginal 0.3% to RM1.39 billion from RM1.4 billion a year ago, caused by lower contribution from subscription (RM2.1 million), home-shopping (RM2.5 million) and others (RM7.2 million), offset by higher advertising revenue of RM7.4 million.
The group declared a fourth interim dividend of three sen, amounting to RM156.28 million, for the financial year ended Jan 31, 2017 (FY17), payable on April 27. It also proposed a final dividend of 0.5 sen per for FY17, which is payable on a date to be determined later.
For full year FY17, Astro saw its net profit rise 1.36% to RM623.68 million from RM615.31 million the previous year due to lower depreciation of property, plant and equipment and lower net finance cost.
Revenue for FY17 climbed 2.5% to RM5.61 billion from RM5.48 billion in FY16.
Kelington Group Bhd has received a contract from one of the country's largest photovoltaic manufacturers for the onsite supply of nitrogen gas.
The contract was awarded to its subsidiary, Ace Gases Marketing Sdn Bhd.
Under the contract, Kelington will set up an onsite generator to produce nitrogen gas at the photovoltaic manufacturer's manufacturing plant in Malaysia. It will be paid a fixed facility fee amounting to approximately RM20 million over a period of 10 years.
Kelington’s chief executive officer Raymond Gan said this is the group’s first industrial gas supply contract and would add a stable and recurring income stream to the group.
UEM Edgenta Bhd has inked an agreement for the issuance of Islamic commercial papers (ICP programme) and Islamic medium term notes (IMTN programme) with a combined aggregate limit of up to RM1 billion.
The proceeds raised from the sukuk programme will allow the group to rebalance its capital and will be utilised for its syariah-compliant general corporate expansion, it said.
"This includes capital expenditure to push forward in enhancing our new strategic focus in our three key business offerings encompassing consultancy, solutions and services in four distinct core business sectors, namely healthcare, infrastructure, real estate and water," said UEM Edgenta managing director and chief executive officer Azmir Merican.
Econpile Holdings Bhd has bagged a RM92.5 million contract from Mujur Minat Sdn Bhd to build the diaphragm wall for the Kampung Baru North Underground Station for Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya line of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT2).
The construction and completion of the diaphragm wall is part of the works for the underground works package, encompassing the design, construction and completion of tunnels, stations and associated structures from Jalan Ipoh North Escape Shaft to Desa Waterpark South Portal, under KVMRT2.
The project is anticipated to take approximately 450 days from date of commencement, which will be determined in due course, to complete.
The contract represents Econpile's first works to be done for a KVMRT underground station, and the second to be secured for KVMRT2 project, said its group chief executive Raymond Pang.
Handal Resources Bhd's wholly-owned Handal Offshore Services Sdn Bhd has accepted a crane maintenance contract worth RM2.31 million from SapuraKencana Energy Peninsula Malaysia Inc.
The contract, which will be for a period of two years from March 2017 to February 2019 with the option for a further one-year extension, entails the provision of pedestal crane maintenance services for SapuraKencana Energy's production operations.
Anzo Holdings Bhd, whose share price has surged 41% from 39 sen on March 22 this year to close at 55 sen today, said it is not aware of any corporate development that could have contributed to the recent sharp rise in the price of the company's shares.
In a reply to Bursa Malaysia's unusual market activity (UMA) query today, Anzo said after enquiring with its directors and major shareholders, it is not aware of any rumour or report concerning the business and affairs of the company and its subsidiaries that may account for the UMA.
On March 22, Anzo announced that its wholly-owned construction arm, Harvest Court Construction Sdn Bhd, had received a letter of intent from Tinta Anggun Engineering Sdn Bhd for a RM109.3 million contract to build Phase 2 of the Porto De Melaka Hotel and Resort Development in Melaka.