KUALA LUMPUR (May 14): Based on corporate announcements and news flow today, companies that may be in focus on Tuesday (May 15) may include the following: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd, S P Setia Bhd, GD Express Carrier Bhd, Daibochi Plastic and Packaging Industry Bhd, Sunway Construction Group Bhd, Damansara Realty Bhd, Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd and MISC Bhd.
Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV)'s 72%-owned indirect unit Felda Palm Industries Sdn Bhd (FPI) is planning to sell its 30% stake in Taiko Clay Chemical Sdn Bhd (TCC) for RM145 million, which will net FGV a disposal gain of RM16.06 million.
TCC is principally involved in manufacturing and sale of activated bleaching earth and related products, production of sulphuric acid, oleum and battery acid, and general trading and manufacturing of aluminium sulphate.
FPI, which is parked under Felda Holdings Bhd, inked a sale and purchase agreement with Orient View Sdn Bhd for the stake sale. Proceeds from the proposed disposal will be used for general working capital, said FGV.
The group expects the disposal to be completed by the second half of 2018.
S P Setia Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 (1QFY18) came in at RM61.49 million, compared with RM112.12 million a year ago. Revenue was at RM655.5 million versus RM1.03 billion a year ago.
The group's total unbilled sales currently stand at RM7.95 billion, with 46 ongoing projects, while its remaining land bank amounts to 9,586 acres with a GDV of RM139.72 billion as at March 31, 2018, the group said.
As for its secured sales, the group has so far made RM1.11 billion in its first quarter ended March 31, 2018 (1QFY18) and is optimistic that it will be able to meet its sales target of RM5 billion for the year.
GD Express Carrier Bhd's net profit dropped 67% year-on-year to RM2.62 million in its third quarter ended March 31, 2018 (3QFY18) from RM8.01 million, mainly due to higher operating expenses incurred during the quarter.
Revenue grew 19% y-o-y to RM73.4 million from RM61.48 million, its Bursa Malaysia filing today showed.
The group said higher operating expenses was a result of the group's continuous investments in network, sorting facilities, fleet and technologies for network expansion.
For the group's cumulative nine months (9MFY18), net profit fell 32% y-o-y to RM17.11 million from RM25.32 million, though revenue grew 18% y-o-y to RM218.63 million from RM185.64 million.
Daibochi Plastic and Packaging Industry Bhd said its new consumer packaging plant in Yangon, Myanmar, which commenced operation last July, helped lift its latest quarterly net profit by 12.3% to RM6.48 million from RM5.77 million a year ago.
Meanwhile, revenue for the quarter under review rose 11.3% to RM104.74 million from RM94.12 million a year ago, on the aforesaid reason.
The group declared a first interim single tier dividend of 1.05 sen per share, payable on June 28.
Sunway Construction Group Bhd (SunCon) has bagged an RM180 million contract from Alliance Parade Sdn Bhd to undertake Phase 1 of the Sunway Medical Centre project.
With this project, SunCon said its outstanding order book amounts to RM6.3 billion.
SunCon said its subsidiary Sunway Construction Sdn Bhd has accepted the letter of award by Alliance Parade for the proposed development.
The job constitutes a related-party transaction as Alliance Parade is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunway Bhd, which is a major shareholder of SunCon.
The project will commence on May 15, with completion by Dec 15, 2020.
Damansara Realty Bhd is disposing its 70% stake in Healthcare Technical Services Sdn Bhd (HTS) to Johor Corporation (JCORP), for RM11.04 million.
The sales consideration will be satisfied entirely by way of set-off against the intercompany loan owing by Damansara Realty to JCorp.
The group said the proposed sale allows the company to divest its investment in HTS and reduce the amount owing to the JCorp.
As at Dec 31, 2017, the amount owing to JCorp was RM15.1 million. The group said the actual sum of the amount owing shall be subject to final reconciliation to be agreed by both DBHD and JCorp.
The proposed sale in HTS is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2018.
Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd’s net loss more than halved to RM14.34 million in the first quarter of the financial year 2018 (1QFY18), from RM33.21 million a year ago, thanks to improved charter rates from the dry bulk segment, and reduced losses from its associate, PACC Offshore Services Holdings Ltd (POSH).
Revenue for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, however, fell 17% to RM54.26 million from RM64.96 million a year ago.
MISC Bhd saw its first-quarter net profit fall 54.1% to RM310.6 million from RM676.2 million a year ago, on lower contribution across all business segments.
This resulted in a lower earnings per share of 7 sen for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 (1QFY18) compared with 15.1 sen in 1QFY17.
Revenue also dropped 32.3% to RM2.02 million from RM2.98 billion a year ago.
The group declared a first interim dividend of 7 sen per share for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2018 (FY18), payable on June 12.