KUALA LUMPUR (May 8): The first half of 2015 is expected to continue to be challenging for the Minho (M) Bhd’s timber trading and manufacturing divisions, according to its chairman Datuk Seri Ismail Yusof.

Ismail said this in the company’s 2014 annual report released today.

Minho (fundamental: 1.25; valuation: 1.10) manufactures, exports and deals in logs and processed timber products.

The company also makes and supplies industrial grade sack kraft paper bags as well as property development.

“With the prolonged uncertain economic outlook in Europe coupled with currency volatility, demand from the European Union is likely to remain lacklustre.

“The Group aims to mitigate the above with not only more efficient operations and cautious marketing strategies but with higher timber extraction activities as well,” said Ismail.

He said that the company’s property development division, having successfully launched its new project in the third quarter of 2014 was currently planning its cautious expansion into new niche projects while being mindful of the government’s recent introduction of market cooling measures for the Malaysian housing sector and the implementation of the goods and services tax.

(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.)