KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): Faber Group Bhd rose as much as nine sen or 3% after the group anounced it secured new concessions to provide support services to government hospitals in several states across Malaysia.

Yesterday, Faber (fundamental: 2.1; valuation: 0.9) said it had signed  new concession agreements with the government for the provision of hospital support services (HSS) in Perak, Pulau Pinang, Kedah and Perlis besides Sabah and Sarawak.

Today, Faber shares rose to an intraday high of RM3.29 before paring gains.

At 11.32am, the stock was traded at RM3.24 with 718,000 shares changing hands.

In a note to clients today, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd said it maintained its "neutral" call on Faber shares with an unchanged target price of RM3.35.

MIDF also maintained its earnings forecast for Faber as the research firm had factored in the concession agreements into its forecasts.

"Our 'neutral' stance on the stock is mainly due to the surge in its share price recently. We believe this was attributed to the weakening ringgit which is positive for Faber as more than 50% of its earnings are derived from foreign operations via its subsidiary, Opus.

"While this agreement may remove overhang on the stock, the new agreement is net negative to Faber," MIDF said.

(Notes: 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.)