KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 18): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies in focus tomorrow could include Datasonic Group Bhd, Yinson Holdings Bhd and George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd.

Datasonic Group Bhd’s managing director Datuk Abu Hanifah Noordin has disposed of 13.81% of his stake in the company via a series of off-market trades this afternoon.

He was the single largest shareholder of the company, whose share price has climbed 172% since June, before the share disposal, according to its annual report for the financial year ended March 31, 2019 (FY19).

According to Bloomberg, a total of 186.41 million shares worth RM121.17 million or 65 sen per share were traded in three off-market trades..  

Yinson Holdings Bhd’s net profit rose 24% to RM53.97 million in the third quarter ended Oct 31, 2019 (3QFY20) from RM43.4 million in the previous year’s corresponding quarter, despite lower revenue, following a decline in administrative and income tax expenses.

Administrative expenses declined 77% to RM20.89 million from RM88.87 million, while income tax expenses shrank 18% to RM15.89 million from RM19.47 million. Revenue, meanwhile, fell 9% to RM240.97 million from RM265.58 million, its stock exchange filing today showed.

For the cumulative nine-month period, however, net profit dropped 18% to RM144.96 million from RM177.5 million a year ago, while revenue declined 11% to RM663.4 million from RM747.3 million.

George Kent (Malaysia) Bhd's net profit halved to RM10.26 million in its third financial quarter ended Oct 31, 2019 (3QFY20) from RM20.55 million a year ago, due to lower revenue contribution from its engineering and construction division.

This resulted in lower earnings per share of 1.9 sen for 3QFY20 compared with 3.7 sen for 3QFY19. Revenue for the quarter also fell 29.6% to RM72.91 million from RM103.55 million a year ago.

Nevertheless, the group declared a second interim dividend of one sen per share for the financial year ending Jan 31, 2020 (FY20), payable on Feb 5, 2020. This brings total dividends for the year to 2.5 sen per share or RM13.44 million.