KUALA LUMPUR (May 26): Here is a brief look at some corporate announcements and news flow on Thursday (May 26) involving Axiata Group Bhd, UMediC Group Bhd, Optimax Holdings Berhad, Mega First Corp Bhd, Petronas Dagangan Bhd, Sunway Bhd, Genting Bhd, Genting Malaysia Bhd, Malaysia Building Society Bhd, MISC Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd, Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd, IHH Healthcare Bhd, DRB-Hicom Bhd, KPJ Healthcare Bhd, YTL Corp Bhd and AME Elite Consortium Bhd.
Permodalan Nasional Bhd is among a group of shareholders — which is believed to also include the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) — that has voted against Axiata Group Bhd's proposed acquisition of a 66.03% stake in Indonesia's PT Link Net Tbk (LinkNet) for 8.72 trillion rupiah (RM2.55 billion). Nevertheless, the resolution for the investment was passed as the telco managed to garner 57.83% of the votes of those present and voting at the extraordinary general meeting on Thursday, while 42.17% was against it. The approving majority represented 4.837 billion shares, while the dissenters had 3.527 billion shares.
UMediC Group Bhd has received the nod from Bursa Securities and the Securities Commission Malaysia to list on Bursa Malaysia’s ACE Market. The group is issuing 97.22 million new shares, of which 18.69 million will be made available to the Malaysian public, while 65.44 million will be placed to selected investors.
Optimax Holdings Berhad announced that it would transfer its listing to the Main Market of Bursa Securities from the ACE Market. The company stated that it has met the requirements for the transfer of its listing as set out in the Equity Guidelines issued by the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Main Market Listing Requirements of Bursa Securities.
Fresh from turning around its newly acquired oleochemicals business, Mega First Corp Bhd (MFCB) has further expanded its exposure in the booming semiconductor space, following its acquisition of a 28.83% stake in Integrated Smart Technology Sdn Bhd (IST) for RM5.56 million. IST, which is involved in automated test machines for the semiconductor sector, is expected to generate around RM10 million per year or around RM2.9 million for MFCB’s equity portion.
Former EPF chief executive officer Tunku Alizakri Raja Muhammad Alias will be appointed independent and non-executive director of Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag) effective next Wednesday (June 1, 2022).
On another note, PetDag’s net profit in 1QFY22 fell by 38% to RM118.49 million from RM191.11 million a year ago due to higher operating expenditure and lower gross profit from its commercial segment. Quarterly revenue increased by 48.15% to RM7.62 billion against RM5.14 billion, following a 20% rise in sales volume and 24% jump in average selling prices. The group also declared an interim dividend of five sen per share, to be paid on June 24.
Sunway Bhd’s first quarter net profit soared 140% to RM140.11 million from RM58.45 million in the same quarter last year on the back of higher revenue due to stronger operating performance from most business segments, except trading and manufacturing. Revenue grew 31.48% to RM1.11 billion from RM846.11 million a year earlier.
Genting Bhd's net loss for its 1QFY22 widened quarter-on-quarter to RM199.68 million from RM129.81 million, due to weaker performance across most key operations. The 1QFY22 net loss marked Genting’s eighth straight quarterly loss since the pandemic started. Revenue for 1QFY22 fell 13% to RM4.21 billion from RM4.84 billion in 4QFY21, largely due to a 51% decline in the plantation segment's contribution to RM513.8 million, from RM1.04 billion. On a year-on-year basis, Genting managed to narrow its net loss to RM199.68 million or 5.19 sen per share in 1QFY22, from RM331.76 million or 8.62 sen per share, as revenue rose 87% to RM4.21 billion from RM2.25 billion in 1QFY21.
Genting Malaysia Bhd’s net loss for 1QFY22 narrowed to RM126.53 million from RM483.59 million a year ago, as revenue soared close to three folds to RM1.72 billion from RM623.35 million. It said the higher revenue was underpinned by the RM621 million or over three-fold increase in revenue from the leisure and hospitality business in Malaysia, compared to a year ago. This was mainly due to higher business volume from the gaming and non-gaming segments, as a result of the easing of travel restrictions during 1QFY22.
Malaysia Building Society Bhd’s (MBSB) net profit in 1QFY22 fell 8.2% to RM58.21 million from RM63.41 million a year ago, on the back of lower non-funded income and higher operating expenditure. In 1QFY22, revenue was lower by 2.4% y-o-y to RM664.5 million from RM680.98 million, contributed by lower non-funded income mainly due to losses incurred in the sale of Treasury investments.
MISC Bhd posted a lower net profit of RM376.4 million for 1QFY22 from RM429.8 million a year ago. However, revenue was 12.9% higher at RM2.86 billion from RM2.54 billion previously, contributed by gas assets and solutions, petroleum and product shipping, offshore business, and marine and heavy engineering segments.
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) reported that its 1QFY22 net profit dropped to RM2.04 billion from RM2.39 billion a year earlier as revenue fell and as overhead expenses rose at a time when geopolitical tensions and market volatility impacted the operating environment. The bank said revenue fell to RM11.91 billion from RM12.22 billion a year earlier.
Kerjaya Prospek Group Bhd's net profit for 1QFY22 increased by 9.38% to RM28.86 million from RM26.39 million, on the back of higher revenue. The group announced its highest quarterly revenue ever after it increased by 11.88% to RM300.59 million from RM268.67 million a year earlier, underpinned by progress in construction work activities. It also declared an interim dividend of two sen per share, to be paid on July 8.
Petron Malaysia Refining & Marketing Bhd’s net profit in 1QFY22 edged slightly higher by 3.28% to RM106.38 million compared with RM103 million a year earlier, underpinned by strong sales performance, favourable product prices and refining margins. Meanwhile, 1QFY22 revenue jumped by 89.95% to RM3.8 billion from RM2.01 billion, as prices of finished petroleum products rose amid demand recovery.
Healthcare services provider IHH Healthcare Bhd’s net profit for 1QFY22 rose 31% to RM493.26 million from RM375.62 million a year ago, on higher revenue offset by higher operating costs. Revenue for 1QFY22 rose 6% to RM4.16 billion from RM3.94 billion in 1QFY21.
DRB-Hicom Bhd’s net loss in 1QFY22 swelled to RM25.74 million from a net loss of RM16.96 million a year ago, underpinned by losses incurred at 50.1%-owned PROTON Holdings Bhd and the group’s property segment. The group’s quarterly revenue declined by 12.59% to RM3.07 billion compared with RM3.51 billion as its automotive and postal sector delivered lower revenue contribution.
KPJ Healthcare Bhd saw its net profit in 1QFY22 grow by 71% to RM22.19 million from RM12.98 million reported in the same period last year as inpatient visits and bed occupancy rate increased in the quarter under review. Quarterly revenue increased by 7.44% to RM651.02 million compared with RM605.94 million, due to higher contribution from its Malaysian and other operations. The group also declared an interim dividend of 0.25 sen per share, to be paid on July 29.
YTL Corp Bhd reported a net profit of RM414.61 million for its third quarter ended March 31, 2022 (3QFY22), over 18 times the RM22.43 million it posted in the same quarter a year ago, mainly due to a one-off gain from the disposal of its investment in ElectraNet Pty. The group's revenue jumped to RM6.17 billion from RM4.22 billion. For the nine months ended March 31, YTL Corp's net profit jumped to RM521.87 million from RM39.82 million, as revenue rose 39.3% to RM18.09 billion from RM12.99 billion, again bolstered by the disposal of the group’s investment in ElectraNet that was completed in March 2022.
Industrial property developer AME Elite Consortium Bhd saw its net profit fall 9% to RM48.56 million for the financial year ended March 31, 2022 (FY22) from RM53.478 million in the previous year, on lower revenue. Revenue also came in lower at RM398.39 million in FY22, down 14% from RM460.61 million in FY21, due to lower revenue across most of its business segments of construction, property development and engineering. Nevertheless, the group declared an interim dividend of 2.5 sen per share for FY22, payable on July 7. For the fourth financial quarter ended March 31, 2022 (4QFY22), it posted a net profit of RM20.88 million, down 3% from RM21.62 million, while revenue fell 15% to RM139.73 million from RM163.31 million in 4QFY21.