Tuesday 19 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 29): Here is a brief recap of some corporate announcements that made news on Tuesday (Nov 29): AirAsia X Bhd (AAX), Capital A Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd (GenM), Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG), Hong Leong Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd, PPB Group Bhd, Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag), Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd, UMW Holdings Bhd, Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP), Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd, UOA Development Bhd, 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd, Hextar Global Bhd and Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB).

AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) has proposed to acquire Capital A Bhd’s aviation arm through AirAsia Bhd (AAB) and AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd (AAAGL), as part of its regularisation strategy to uplift itself from Practice Note 17 (PN17) status. This confirmed The Edge Malaysia weekly report on Nov 7, quoting sources, that the low-cost carrier AirAsia may merge with its medium-haul affiliate AAX as part of the restructuring of Capital A, which is also a PN17 company. AAX said it is formulating a regularisation plan that involves the merger with AAB and AAAGL, which has shareholdings in AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Thailand, as part of the carrier’s bid to uplift its PN17 status.

Genting Malaysia Bhd (GenM) confirmed that its bid was unsuccessful for a new 10-year gaming concession for the operation of casino games of fortune in Macau. Nonetheless, GenM expressed its appreciation to the Macau SAR (Special Administrative Region) government for the opportunity to participate in the bidding process. About two months ago, GenM announced the submission of its bid via its indirect subsidiary GMM SA to the Macau government. GMM was a surprise seventh bidder when tender documents were submitted on Sept 14.

Hong Leong Financial Group Bhd (HLFG)’s net profit for the first quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (1QFY2023) grew 6.4% year-on-year (y-o-y), thanks to higher contributions from its commercial banking division, which houses its 64%-owned Hong Leong Bank Bhd. However, its insurance division HLA Holdings Sdn Bhd and investment banking operation Hong Leong Capital Bhd recorded lower contributions. Net profit for 1QFY2023 rose to RM681.74 million, from RM640.56 million a year ago. Net interest income grew 6.2% to RM1.01 billion for 1QFY2023, from RM952.72 million for 1QFY2022.

Hong Leong Bank, on the other hand, recorded a 14% growth in net profit to RM981.41 million for 1QFY2023 from RM858.25 million a year ago, while net interest income grew 7.7% to RM989.57 million from RM918.81 million. Earnings were driven by stronger interest income, effective cost management, low credit cost and robust contributions from associates. Net interest margin improved five basis points y-o-y to 2.18% in 1QFY2023.

RHB Bank Bhd recorded a 10% y-o-y growth in net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), owing to higher net fund-based income, absence of modification loss and lower expected credit losses. Net profit for 3QFY2022 rose to RM700.5 million from RM635.6 million a year ago, while net interest income grew 8.4% to RM1.1 billion from RM1.02 billion.

PPB Group Bhd’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022) jumped 92.38% to RM784.75 million from RM407.91 million in the same period last year, on improved revenue contribution from all of its key segments, including its 18.5%-owned Singapore-listed Wilmar International Ltd. The contribution from Wilmar expanded to RM733 million in the quarter under review, compared to RM432 million a year ago. Quarterly revenue climbed 39% to RM1.65 billion, from RM1.19 billion in the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share swelled to 55.16 sen from 28.67 sen.

Press Metal Aluminium Holdings Bhd’s net profit grew 11% y-o-y for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022, thanks to increased sales, which were driven by a stronger US dollar and higher production output. Higher contribution from its associated companies engaged in alumina, silicon and carbon anode manufacturing also partially supported the increase in earnings. Net profit for the quarter rose to RM315.80 million from RM283.33 million a year ago, while revenue grew 33% to RM3.84 billion from RM2.89 billion.

IHH Healthcare Bhd registered a 54.2% drop in its net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022) to RM251.76 million, from RM550 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter. This was due to a 7% decrease in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) during the quarter from the corresponding quarter in 2021, to RM1.02 billion, which led to an 11% decrease in profit after tax and minority interest, before exceptional items, to RM315.4 million. The lower net profits were also due to higher net finance costs and a debit adjustment of RM58.8 million in 3QFY2022 relating to the application of MFRS 129, which mainly resulted from higher depreciation and amortisation on reindexation, said the group. Quarterly revenue, meanwhile, rose 3.38% to RM4.6 billion from RM4.44 billion, amid strong recovery from core non-Covid-19 revenues, as both local and foreign patients returned to seek treatment at the group’s hospitals.

Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag) more than doubled its net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022) to RM275.97 million from RM119.31 million in the same period last year, mainly due to higher gross profit from all segments, in line with an increase in volume sold during the quarter. Quarterly revenue climbed 93.43% to RM10.13 billion — its best ever to date and the first time it breached the RM10 billion mark — from RM5.24 billion in the same period a year ago, on the back of higher sales volume by 43% and an increase in average selling prices by 35%. PetDag declared an interim dividend of 20 sen per ordinary share for the quarter.

Alliance Bank Malaysia Bhd’s net profit fell 8.2% to RM158.42 million in the second quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (2QFY2023) from RM172.74 million a year ago, due to higher allowance for expected credit losses. Revenue rose 6% to RM480.57 million from RM452.98 million. The bank has declared a first interim dividend of 12 sen per share, representing a total dividend payout ratio of 50%.

UMW Holdings Bhd recorded a net profit of RM100.7 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), compared to a net loss of RM47.9 million registered in the corresponding quarter last year. The better earnings were supported by improved contribution from all three core business segments, namely its automotive, equipment, and manufacturing and engineering divisions. Revenue in 3QFY2022 doubled y-o-y to RM4.06 billion, from RM2.02 billion. UMW has declared an interim dividend of three sen per share, amounting to RM35 million for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022), to be paid on Dec 15, 2022.

Sime Darby Property Bhd (SDP)’s net profit for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022) surged to RM56.13 million, from a net loss of RM5.19 million a year earlier, on the back of higher revenue. Revenue grew by 12% to RM689.3 million quarter-on-quarter, driven by improvements in the property development segment, which registered higher revenues of 13% to RM640.6 million, on the back of steady progress of its land bank management and monetisation plan. SDP exceeded its RM2.6 billion FY2022 sales target by achieving RM2.7 billion sales in 9MFY2022.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said it is pivoting towards a propensity for growth, besides making concerted efforts in seeking out revenue generation and actively unlocking untapped opportunities to strengthen its financial position. This came after the group posted a lower net loss of RM9.04 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), from RM182.32 million in the same period last year, driven by an 87.2% y-o-y increase in revenue to RM863.6 million. The 87.2% jump in its quarterly revenue came in tandem with significant increase in passenger volumes at the group’s airports, driven by further easing of travel protocols, summer and school holiday period, hajj season and further resumption of airline services and connectivity.

Hengyuan Refining Co Bhd slipped into the red again in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), after three consecutive quarters of profit, on adverse refining margin. The group attributed the adverse refining margin to a sharp reduction in cracks, especially for motor gas, as well as a higher crude premium incurred and an increase in stockholding losses due to a significant drop in product prices. On a y-o-y basis, quarterly net loss widened by nearly 12 times to RM640.48 million from RM54.04 million. Revenue grew 55% to RM5.03 billion from RM3.25 billion in 3QFY2021, thanks to a surge in market product prices.

UOA Development Bhd’s net profit and revenue jumped almost three times y-o-y for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), on progressive recognition of the property developer’s ongoing project. Net profit rose to RM96.19 million from RM33.15 million a year ago, while revenue soared to RM163.44 million from RM54.58 million. Total unbilled sales as at Sept 30, 2022 amounted to approximately RM181.1 million.

Convenience store operator 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd’s net profit swelled more than nine-fold to RM13.66 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), from RM1.44 million a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter surged 45.28% to a record high of RM988.21 million, from RM680.22 million in 3QFY2021, carried by higher revenue contributions from both its convenience store and pharmaceutical segments. With this, the group has posted back-to-back record-high quarterly revenues, following the prior record-high it posted for 2QFY2022 of RM943.67 million.

Agrochemical company Hextar Global Bhd has announced that its executive director (ED) Datuk Eddie Ong Choo Meng is stepping down with immediate effect “to pursue other interest”. Hextar Global quoted Ong, 44, who owns a direct stake of 7.1% and an indirect stake of 59.8% in the company, as saying that this was “not an easy” decision to step down from the executive role. With Ong’s resignation, Hextar Global appointed Rayburn Azhar Ali as the new ED, effective immediately.

Separately, Hextar Global also released its financial results for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3QFY2022), with net profit nearly doubling to RM13.96 million from RM7.21 million a year ago, driven by strong revenue growth and higher margins from its specialty chemicals segment. Revenue for the quarter grew 44% to RM162.33 million, from RM112.55 million in 3QFY2021.

Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Sdn Bhd (MMHE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd (MHB), has secured a RM4.5 billion contract from Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd, the marine engineering group’s filing showed. The contract is for the engineering, procurement, construction, installation and commissioning (EPCIC) services for the Kasawari carbon capture and storage project, located off the coast of Sarawak. The EPCIC contract includes the construction of a 14,000-tonne topside, a 15,000-tonne 8-legged jacket of Kasawari CCS platform and a bridge linking to the Kasawari central processing platform.

Edited ByS Kanagaraju
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